


Comatose

by mikuridaigo



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Thor (2011)
Genre: Frostiron prompt, M/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-08
Updated: 2013-07-26
Packaged: 2017-11-11 17:56:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 41,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/481268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikuridaigo/pseuds/mikuridaigo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>meinameisammy: Okay, I've got a prompt. I have this idea for an AU where, instead of ending up with the Chitauri after he fell, Loki ended up on Midgard--specifically, Afghanistan. With Tony. Whataretimelineslol. They end up capturing him, and either put him in the cell with Tony or somewhere where they can still talk. I'd like to see a sort of relationship-/trust-building kind of thing. It could be a one-shot or multi-chaptered, I don't mind!</i>
</p>
<p>Loki expected death when he fell from the Bi frost, but instead he's trapped in a cave with a scientist and a man with a mechanical heart. Whether this is his punishment for almost destroying another world he doesn't care, they just want to leave.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Waking to You, Waking to This.

**Author's Note:**

> I know there are other stories here and tumblr in which 'Loki fell and ends up with Tony'. I'm not trying to replicate those ones, I'm simply answering the prompt given on frost-iron.tumblr.com
> 
> Edited by [MyOhMandy ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MyOhMandy/pseuds/MyOhMandy) because she is awesome and I love her.

“I could have done it father, for you!” Loki screamed, tightening his grip on the handle of his staff. He looked up, pleadingly, at his father, his eyes tear-stained and waiting…waiting for his father—for the AllFather—to agree with him…to say he knew, that Loki could have done it; could have destroyed Jotunheim for the better, to tell Loki that he knew he’d done everything for his family, that he loved Loki…that he approved, and that Loki was equal—no, better!—than Thor. Waiting for something, his heart twisted in his chest, beating rapidly as water washed down his face, waiting to be told that even despite of all his mistakes, and despite of the mess he’d made, the mess he made for Odin, for his father. He’d wanted to rid the galaxy of the monsters that had brought destruction to earth, to all the realms of any recollection that Loki was not of Asgard, and most of all, he wanted to make his father happy. He wanted to be equal to Thor. To prove his father hadn’t made a mistake in adopting him.

But he didn’t.

The Allfather only sighed, closing his eyes, slowly shaking his head, his face heavy with regret and disappointment, before saying words that struck him in the chest, slipping through his ribs like a thief, past his body’s’ defenses and puncturing his heart.

“No, Loki.” 

It only took two words.

And that was it. The tears ran dry, and his body felt cold. He’d done everything—everything he could think of for Asgard, he’d made it the realm to be feared, and respected, and he would have ridden the of their enemies—and it was all for naught. Odin had decreed his failure, and now he knew. He could never be Thor, never be as good as him, as strong, as well liked, or as loved as Thor. He would never be equal to them. He gave a telling look at the spear, his heart heavy, his blood racing through his head, veins pounding in his skull. His brother knew.

“Loki, no!” Thor yelled. It was too late. His hands were empty, and be fell, deep into the abyss of space that usually resided beneath the bifrost. Thor continued to scream, his hand still reaching out as his father pulled him over onto the bridge, his eyes wide with disbelief and pain.

Loki closed his eyes and waited to greet death. **  
—-**

****

He was jolted awake by a loud, echoing scream in a cave. His eyes adjusted to the slight darkness and he saw two men, one lying on the table (the source of the screaming), and the other, standing on his left, holding tools he was using to operate on the inside of the screamer’s chest. The operator took a damp cloth off the table and pressed it over the screaming man’s face in a whirl of movements, and the screaming stopped after a moment. The other continued his surgery, and Loki said nothing, only observing. He found himself particularly surprised that he was still alive; he felt certain he’d be suffering in some painful afterlife, not sitting in the dark cave of a different realm.

Loki’s placed his hand on the floor, only to quickly withdraw it in disgust, wiping the dirt off onto his clothes. He looked to see what he lied on: hay, and straw, with a ragged pillow stuffed from the same stuff underneath where he’d lain his head, an equally holly blanket was lying over his chest.

The cave itself was dark; light leaking pathetically from lamps that hung on the uneven walls of the cave. There were two other—beds, to use the word sparsely—lying near him, and there was a fire near the door, several filthy pots and pans lying near it. Loki nearly cringed, seeing how dirt encrusted everything was. He knew immediately he was not on either Asgard or Jotunheim, where the walls of the caves were not only jewel or ice encrusted, but glowed brilliantly. The cave he found himself in now was completely lacking in anything even nearly as spectacular, the walls sharp and rocky and dry. Scrap metal, loose papers, and various useless looking items littered the area, and the only thing that looked the slightest bit well-kept was the door—a large, thick, and impregnable looking block of metal with a thick glass window at the top.

It didn’t take a much thought to figure out that he was not only very much alive—he was a prisoner.

The operator sighed, wiping his hands off on another rag before beginning to put his tools away, washing his hands in a bucket and wiping them on the rag again. Loki closed his eyes and feigned sleep before the man could turn and look at him. He heard the man approach him and kneel, putting the back of his hand on Loki’s forehead. Loki fought the urge to flinch away from the man’s hands.

Loki opened an eye, watching the man carry the surgical patient and place him down on the bed next to him. He’s definitely younger than the second man, and it looks as though his facial hair was once cut into a style, having now grown out uneven. There’s a bloodied bandage wrapped around his chest beneath his ragged shirt, and wires protrude from under it, connecting him to a rectangular metal box. Loki watched him silently; his breathing alternates between patterns of normality and elevation.

The only sound in the room is the faint dripping from a corner of the cave. Annoyed, Loki drowned it out with sleep.

He woke up after what he could only guess was several hours. The bed next to him was empty, and he could hear the two men talking. He lifted his head up and looked around, finding them sitting on either side of the pot while the second man cooked; the first looks as though he himself had just woken up, hunched over, one hand buried in his hair as he ran his fingers through it, looking tired, dazed, and obviously just as out of place as Loki. Well. Almost.

“Ah, it seems our other guest as awoken,” The older man said. Loki felt awkward, vulnerable, and self conscious; he pulled the blanket above his waist and looked down.

“What realm is this?”

The first man spoke for the first time. Loki noticed the wires were still connected to his chest, and that the box had moved with him, by the fire. “Realm?” He laughed. I think you mean; ‘where the hell are we’.” And Loki only frowned at the man’s obviously different way of speaking.

“Afghanistan.” Loki had never heard of the place, to be honest. He looked closely at the men, and it wasn’t difficult to deduce that while they looked like gods, they could be none other than human—which mean he could only be one place; Midgard. 

“They keep saying you fell from the sky.” The first man said, looking at him as though he could figure out what they’d meant by staring.

“And what’s with the outfit?” The wired man asked, and he looked a little amused.

Loki frowned and turned to the older man, deciding quickly that he preferred him between the two. It was strange, thought, that not only would he not die after falling into the black hole…but to land in the same realm his brother had been banished to…it was an unusual coincidence. “What are we doing here?”

He opened his mouth to answer as the door opened.

“Follow my lead.” The older man said quietly, standing up slowly and folding his hands behind his head. They did the same. A tall man with a large, haggard beard stepped forward through the door and began to speak in a language he’d never heard before. The oldest of the three prisoners translated, turning; “He says welcome to the great Tony Stark, their newest and most humble guest, and that if you would like for us to be freed, you much build the Jericho missile.” He looked to a metal cone, lying on the floor, blue papers stacked on top of it.

Tony looked at their captor. “I refuse.”

The man smiled, turning around and nodding at people Loki couldn’t see before stepping further into the room. Two men followed him in, a large tub of water held between them. They placed it in front of Tony, and then grabbed Loki and the other prisoner and shoved them against the wall of the cave. The man who had spoken to Tony approached him, grabbing him by the hair and pulling him to his knees, smirking in his face before shoving his head under water. One of the other two men held his arms behind his back as he struggled violently against it, and after roughly sixty seconds they released him. “Will you now?” He spoke it in heavily accented English.

Tony spat water in his face. “Fuck you,” he replied, and they resubmerged his face in the water.

Loki watched it in silence while the man next to him yelled in their foreign tongue, only to have the man standing near them shove him hard into the wall, sending him to the ground, where he clutched the back of his head.

They pulled Tony’s face out of the water, and asked him the question again, and again, and Tony continuously refused. Loki closed his eyes, trying to focus on the three of them as he whispered the quiet words of a spell. Only, when he opened his eyes, nothing had happened. He hadn’t lost his powers, yet he was too weak to use them. He looked up, startled by silence, only to realize that Tony wasn’t moving against the guards anymore. They yanked his head out quickly, slapping him awake. Tony spent the next several minutes choking and gasping for air, the cave otherwise completely silent. When his breathing calmed down, the man asked again; eventually he doesn’t hear Tony’s struggles and when he looks up Tony’s feet stopped kicking. “Will you build Jericho?”

“Yes, yes he’ll do it!” Loki yelled suddenly, the words streaming out of his mouth without thought. Everyone turned to look at him, even Tony, who had to crane his neck to glare pathetically.

Their captor smiled. “He will?” He asks looking to Tony.

Tony’s eyes were foggy and filled with anger as he looked at Loki. Loki gave a pointed nod to their fellow captor, who was lying on the floor, bleeding and looking ready to pass out. “I’ll do it. I’ll build your fucking missile.”

The two captors by Tony stood up, tossing the disoriented engineer back as they left. “What did they do to Yinsen?”

“What do you think? They slammed his head against the side of the cave.” Loki grabbed his blanket, quickly ripping off two strips, dampening one in the tub of water. He pressed the dry piece against the wound, using the wet strip to clean up the blood around the wound.

“Why the hell did you agree?” Tony asked angrily, regaining a proper train of thought.

“They were going to kill you, and he was bleeding all over the floor. I had to do something, or the two of you were both going to die.” The older man woke, and took over pressing the fabric against the back of his skull.

“Yeah? I would rather die than build anything for those terrorists.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “A lot of good that would’ve done. It seems they’ve targeted you specifically to build this ‘Jericho’. If you had died Yinsen and I would be useless. I do not know even know what a ‘Jericho Missile’ is—nor do I know why I was taken captive. How do you know how to build one in the first place?”

“What do you mean you don’t know what the Jericho Missile is? Do you watch the news? I’m Tony Stark, owner of Stark Industries. That missile? I designed it, built it for the American military. And these guys heard about it, decided they liked it, and kidnapped me so I could help them destroy the world with it.”

Ah, destroying the world. Loki could relate to that—although, he’d never been stupid enough to try and destroy his own.

“Are we going to keep talking, or at least pretend to work?” Yinsen asked, standing up slowly.

Tony scoffed. “What choice do we have?”


	2. I'm So Tired of Trying to Fight This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've been in that cave for many weeks. Loki is working to build the missile, but what is Tony and Yinsen doing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took much longer to update, but chapter three is being edited now and chapter 4 is in the works :D 
> 
> Edited by [MyOhMandy ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MyOhMandy/pseuds/MyOhMandy) :D

Loki couldn’t say how long it’d been since he’d woken up in the cave; with no natural source of light, it was impossible to tell when it was day, and when it was night. Their sleeping habits all varied, and Yinsen and Tony’s surprised him—they were virtually non-existent. Yinsen showed no signs of retiring each time he went to sleep, and he rarely saw Tony nap for more than a minute.

“One month.” Tony said one day.

“Pardon?”

“One month, the Ten Rings have kept us here for a month.” Tony said, hammering a hot piece of metal on the anvil.

Had it really been that long? To Loki, it had only felt like one, maybe two weeks, tops. Then again, Tony had kept him busy; teaching him how to weld the pieces together, how to read the blueprints, and having him help make an Arc reactor (a form of technology Tony owned in one of his homes) to replace the device hooked up to the car battery. 

Loki was a fast learner. While they didn’t actually stop to explain to him the exact reasons for everything they asked him to do, and while he didn’t explicitly understand, he used the blueprints the way one uses a photograph to put together a puzzle. He worked well, with quick and adept hands when putting parts together, and surprised them all with his exquisite welding. He decided he didn’t mind the work, and that it made the time pass quickly.

He smiled a bit proudly to himself as he finished the small bit he’d been working on for the Jericho, bringing it to Tony and Yinsen to check. Tony took it from his hands and nodded in approval. “Not half bad,” Tony said, nodding. He walked away, still holding it, placing it to lean against the wall, rather than attaching it to the Jericho skeleton. ‘As a matter of fact,’ Loki thought. ‘He is still procrastinating putting any of it together,’

“Stark, what is the meaning of this?” He asked, a touch of irritation seeping in with his genuine misunderstanding. Tony ignored him completely, walking back to his work. . “You haven’t put any of the pieces together—all it’s composed of is a skeleton! Aren’t you supposed to be working on the main components.” He had the sense to say it quietly.  
“’fraid, not leather pants,” His fingers were gliding over blueprints, his focus clearly elsewhere as he attached the metal component made by Loki to several wires. “There, one arm is finished.” it was a mumble, but Yinsen looked up, studying it before nodding silently in approval.

Loki realized for the first time that the men were hiding something from him, and frustrated, he began to look through all of the blueprints in the cave. It didn’t take him long to realize that the thing drawn in the blueprints wasn’t the jericho missile. “Hey, I need those Shakespeare.” Tony snatched them away, placing them spread out on the table.

“Shakespeare?” Loki wasn’t sure what it meant, but he could tell he was supposed to be offended.

Tony looked at him as though he was an alien—which in fact, he was. “Shakespeare in the cave! Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?”

Ah, that’s why.

Loki’s eyes flashed with menace as he grabbed Tony vehemently by the throat, thrusting his body against the cave with a strength neither human could explain. “You dare insult me? I could crush your bones into powder with all the ease of snapping a finger, mortal. I am the God of Lies, and if you speak any falsehood to me you will find yourself with less neck than a fly.” There was fear in Tony’s eyes, and it sparked excitement in Loki’s body. “What are we creating?”

Tony’s hands were clawing at Loki’s arms, his legs thrashing pathetically as his feet searched for the ground. “I-it’s—loosen—loosen your fucking grip—it’s a s-s-suit!”

“A suit?”

“Yes a suit of armor!” Loki looked at Yinsen for confirmation. He’d raised his hands by his head the way he did whenever their captives made an appearance. He looks around at the items in the cave, and realizes that, when put together, they make a full arm and chest plate. He let go of Tony’s throat.

“And why in my father’s name are we building a suit instead of Jericho?”

“To get out, of course.”

“Jericho is our way out!”

“No it’s not!” Tony yelled. Yinsen stood up suddenly, putting his finger on his lips. The slot in the door opened and a pair of eyes peered into see the three men, one drawing in the dirk and muttering, another messing with a piece of scrap metal, and the third glancing up at him from the work table. The eyes disappeared, and the slot slid shut again. Loki tossed the metal to the ground. “Do you have any idea who we’re dealing with?” Tony whispered. “Do you?”

“You keep referring to them as ‘terrorists’ and the ‘Ten Rings’. Besides their machinery, why else are they terrifying?”

The billionaire paused, his expression noticeably unimpressed. He blinked pointedly. “Are you serious?” Loki nodded patiently. “Where the hell are you from?”

“As I said before, I come from Asgard—”

“Yeah, son of Odin brother of Thor—”

“Adopted brother of Thor.”

“Whatever man! The point is these men don’t negotiate the way they do in your country. Whether or not I build these weapons, they will kill us.”

“The man isn’t lying.”

“And how do you know?”

“I am the God of Lies and Mischief, I know-

Tony threw his hands up. “For Christ’s sakes how hard did you hit your head when you ‘fell from the sky’?! No, they’re lying. They’re terrorists, Loki, and that’s what they do. They lie, murder, and—”

A loud bang came from outside the door, and the three men went silent. Yinsen replied in their captive’s tongue; “We apologize, there was a mechanical disagreement.” A voice yelled something from the other side, and Yinsen responded again.

Loki and Tony eyed each other dangerously before going back to work.

—-

“Why do you think they took him in, huh?” Tony asked Yinsen quietly. Loki was sitting with his back to them, working on the fake Jericho. “He thinks he’s a god. And he’s not even a scientist. At least I have both of those things going for me.”

“He fell from the sky. They probably thought think he’s pilot, and they figured it would be better to have a prisoner than have a survivor..” He gestured at Loki, who was now weidling parts together, all of his focus on his work.. “He is a fast learner.”

Tony scoffed. “But he’s still a little…” he poked his finger at his head and made a face. “touched.”

Yinsen laughed. “You mean insane?” The left side of Tony’s mouth raised unevenly and he gave a pointed nod. Yinsen laughed again.. “Say what you want about him, but he is a hard worker.” They turned and watched him work for a minute or so. He didn’t notice, not glancing up from his work. “You are going to have to get used to him eventually, Mr. Stark. Why don’t we talk about something else. How are you doing?”

“Me? I’m peachy. You know, making weapons in a cave with our lives at stake. I wonder how my assistant’s doing. She better have done my laundry.” The older man listened patiently, not minding Tony’s snarkiness. He was, after all, stuck in a cave with a man who’d attempted to kill him for lying.

“I’m sure she’s taken care of it.” He replied, humoring him. Tony smiled, and Yinsen knows it genuine.

—-

Several hours later, while Tony was working on the outer parts of the armer, Yinsen decided it was time for a break. He wiped his hands off on a rag and sat down by Loki, whose eyes are closed. He’s no longer working on welding, Yinsen realized with surprise, but waving his hands over the metal, his mouth whispered words in a quick and near silent tone. He opened his eyes expectantly, and, apparently not having gotten the response he’d wanted, threw the metal against the wall.

“What are you doing?” Yinsen asked.

Loki turned and looked at him, a bit startled. He massaged his fingertips into his temples. “I was trying to turn this scrap into something else—make an illusion, if you will.” Yinsen looked at him incredulously. “Of course as a Midgardian scientist, you do not believe in my abilities.”

Yinsen glanced back at Tony before pressing on. “You mentioned before that you were a son of Odin. The leading God in Norse Mythology, correct?”

Loki ran his fingers over a piece of metal. “Back in ancient earth yes, we were the gods that Midgard prayed to. According to our father, you mortals have stopped believing in us, but we still look over you.” The older man nodded politely, taking his words with a grain of salt. “My abilities are strongest when it comes to illusions. I can make things appear, and camouflage material. I was attempting to turn this scrap metal into a utensil.”

“So why can you not do it?”

The god sighed in annoyance. “I do not know. My abilities seemed weakened since my fall. It is recovering very slowly. I was hoping to encourage the process.” He waved his hands over the metal in a manner that made it clear he didn’t expect anything to happen.

Yinsen rested his hand on Loki’s back and Loki fought the urge to move away from it. “I’m sure you understand how this seems from a man of my standing. I am, however, attempting to put my best foot forward, but it is difficult for me.”

“And for Stark as well?”

Yinsen laughed lightly, rubbing his hand on Loki’s back. “Especially Tony. He is truly a man of science. He has never believed in anything more, even religion. So I presume that something as ‘God of Lies’ and ‘trickery and illusions’ will not convince Tony that it is beyond science.”

“In Asgard, we do not distinguish between science and magic. One is an advanced branch of the other. We have engineering, pyrotechnics—technologies not unlike yours, although most are powered by or were made with some amount of what you’d call magic. To the human race, this form of science is apparently inexplicable. So our science is named magic.”

Loki gave another go at the metal, sighing his whispered chants as he waved his hands over the metal. A small light glowed from the metal and it shifted, turning instead into a small snake. Loki looked on it with surprise, unmoving, but Yinsen jumped to his feet, his heart pounding. The snake slither past the two of them, to where Tony’ was working; it slithered over his left shoe, and he looked down at it, crying out as he shook it off.

“T-the hell?! Where did it come from?!”

Yinsen’s eyes were wide and his mouth swung agape wand a mischievous look overcame Loki’s eyes as a smile spread across his face. Tony was searching for something to kill the snake with. Yinsen put a hand on Loki’s shoulder and gave him a pointed look. Still smiling, Loki waved his hand again. The snake disappeared.

Still panting, Tony gave Loki a cold look, but it only fueled Loki’s joy. The guards began to pound on the door, and Yinsen yelled back with a quick excuse for the noise.. Tony eventually went back to his mechanics, and Loki went back to his spells.

—-  
If he’d had to guess, he would’ve said they were somewhere in their second month of imprisonment. The Jericho was halfway done—and Tony planned for it to stay that way. They ethey damaged, misplaced, or put aside an piece of the missile finished, sometimes simply sending him back to “fix” non-existent problems. He understood, and didn’t complain.. Yinsen spent time working on both projects with Tony’s instructions and occasional assistance, while Tony continued to work solely on the armor in the camera’s blind spots.

Loki wondered to himself if the ten rings had noticed any of his magic. He’d worked on it carefully, practicing small spells to fuse pieces together more quickly, while occasionally relocating Tony’s tools. In his mind, Tony was lucky that he’d elected not to bring forth any more reptiles, enjoying Tony’s continuous confusion in place of his screams, and while he couldn’t explain how he was doing it, Tony blamed Loki.

Yinsen tried once or twice to explain—only to have Tony rolls his eyes and mutter that he’d lost his mind.

Yinsen was religious enough of a man to accept that there was something truthful to Loki’s words—which part of the words that was, he couldn’t guess. Tony, meanwhile, resisted believing any of it. He found it was easier to believe that Yinsen’s sanity had been slightly compromised by the time he’d spent with Loki in the cave, and so he simply bided his time for the day his very real science saved their asses—awaiting rubbing it in Loki’s face almost as much as he coveted being home again.

“Yinsen, have you seen my hammer?”

Yinsen looked up from his work. “It’s by your foot.”

Tony looked at the ground and picked it up. “I could have sworn it was on the table.”

Loki laughed a bit to himself, but it didn’t go unnoticed. Sighing, the billionaire approached Loki, putting his hand on Loki’s shoulder and turning him to face him.. “Okay, how the hell did you do that? This is like the tenth time that you’ve purposely misplace my tools.”

Loki held up his hands. “With magic, Mr. Stark.” He snapped his fingers and the goggles around Tony’s neck disappeared, and reappearing in Loki’s hands.

The shorter man sneered and takes his goggles back. “A parlor trick,”

“Don’t be so closed minded, Anthony, magic is all around us.”

“Did your life consist of kid’s tv? Because that is the most childish bull I’ve heard all year.”

To Yinsen’s surprise, Loki wasn’t offended. “I do not know this ‘tv’ is, but if it promotes magic then yes, my life is full of it.”

“You will never convince—”

A loud yell came from the other side of the metal door. The three men went silent, their hands immediately going up in surrender as it opened. Members of the Ten rings filed in, their guns aimed. Their leader came in last, looking around the room before studying the arc reactor in Tony’s chest.. “Relax.” He smiled, but it was neither relaxing nor convincing. 

The glanced at each other before hesitantly lowering their hands awkwardly to their sides as the leader approached Tony. He pulled down his shirt collar to stare more directly at the reactor.

“The bow and arrow was once the pinnacle of weapons,” He left Tony and walked to half-done missile his fingers brushing against the cold surface as he gave a speech about leaders and Rome. Loki tuned him out.

The leader strolled to the table and picked up the schematics for the suit. “Today the greatest leader is the man with the latest Stark Weapons. Soon, that will be me.” He turned around to look at Tony. “Why have you failed me?” He asked, in a language that only Yinsen could understand.

“We’re working, diligently.” Yinsen protested.

The leader broke the stare in order to face Yinsen. “I let you live, and this is how you repay me?”

Yinsen shifted his feet, trying to stay as calm as possible. The men focused on Yinsen now, especially the leader. “He is trying, it is more complicated and with the limited—”

“On his knees, now!” The guards surged forward, grabbing Yinsen’s shoulders and pushing him down.. The leader used one of their tools to pick up a coal from the fire, uttering cold threats in the unfamiliar language. 

Yinsen’s words did nothing to calm him. He turned to face him, the hot coal still burning proudly. “Open your mouth.”

Tony and Loki were panicking. “What did he say?” Tony demanded.

The leader grabbed Yinsen’s head and shoved it sideways onto the anvil. “You think I’m a fool?” He asked to Yinsen. They can see Yinsen bare his teeth but barely struggle. “Tell me the truth.”

“He’s building your Jericho!” Yinsen protested, the hot coal in front of his face. Tony was yelling, the guards were restraining him and Loki.

“Stop! He’s building your missile, Yinsen is trying and Stark is doing what you asked!” Loki yelled.

The man smiled again. “You are correct.” He replies in English. “Stark and Yinsen are building. But what of you, man from the sky?” He released Yinsen and made his way to Loki, coal still in hand. He holds it close to Loki’s face, waving it side to side by his face, taunting him. “What is your use to my project?”

Loki swallowed. “I was brought here to work, and that is what I’m doing.” 

The man grabbed Loki by the hair, and they brought him to his knees before he could talk his way out of it. “But Stark is the genius behind the missile and Yinsen is adding the pieces together, what use are you?” The coal moved to Loki’s cheek. “Maybe I should use this to silence you hm?”

Loki closed his eyes to brace for his punishment, but then more yelling broke out. Tony was still struggling against his guards, yelling and kicking

“I need them. Both of them. Yinsen is my assistant but Loki is the better wielder. He is the one binding the weapon together.”

“Is that so?” The leader looked at Loki, and then at Yinsen, whose face was still pressed against the anvil.. “Then get to work, dogs.” He dropped the hot coal on Loki’s thigh, where it burned through the cloth on his leg. The guards released both of the men, and Loki stood quickly, letting the coal drop onto the ground. which burned through his pants. Loki quickly stood in order to prevent it from burning, making the other men laugh. The leader threw the tong at Yinsen’s head as he exited.

Tony hurried to Yinsen. “Are you okay?” and Yinsen nodded, grabbing Tony’s shoulder to stand up, his eyes on Loki. There was a deep red welt on Loki’s leg. “Are you okay?”

Loki groaned at the wound. “Wonderful. I’ll be fine. Yinsen, how is your head?”

“No permanent damage.”

“Are you sure about yourself? They burned your leg.”

Loki looked down at his thigh. He felt magic flowing through his veins, and he put the tips of his fingers over the wound. “It only stings,” he began to mumble incoherently in an unfamiliar language. Tony and Yinsen starred—Tony a bit reluctant to admit his curiosity. Loki rubbed his fingers carefully over the welt and then stood up straight again. The skin that had once been an angry, threatening red was now a faint blush of pink. Tony blinked disbelievingly, and Yinsen looked obversely.

“I was not aware you also specialized in healing.”

“I have many talents, most of which are slowly returning to me now,” Loki attended to a bruises from the guard’s holds. “I’ve come to the conclusion that during the eleventh hour of my fall, my subconscious mind took advantage of my remaining energy, already somewhat diminished from the stress and plague of a battle, and used it to break the fall before I could touch ground. In normal conditions it would take much less time for recuperation, but with our current situation, a number of factors are slowing down the process. Is there any damage here that needs seeing to?” Tony sneered as he walked back to his work station, not looking at either of them. “I was not referring to you, in any case.” Loki replied. He bid Yinsen come closer, gesturing that he lower his head. Loki put his fingers gingerly around the swelling area where the metal tool had hit him, then healed the scar that had resulted from his slam into the wall earlier during their captivity. Yinsen closed his eyes and listened carefully to Loki’s quiet murmuring, and when he was done with the man’s head, he worked away the callouses on his hands.

Yinsen smiled and shook Loki’s hand. “That is quite a trick you have there. Thank you, Loki.”

“Just a trick.” Tony commented from his table. “One that I will one day figure out—fucking ow!” His hand jerked away from his table, the tools clattering down. his hand was bleeding. He looked around, grabbing a filthy rag to wrap around the cut. Loki was becoming a bit fed up with Tony’s rationalizing, and walked over to him, yanking Tony’s hand into his grip. “Hey! I think I can handle…” Loki did this spell quickly with one hand tightly gripping Tony’s hand in place, the other carefully holding his fingers. When he let go, the cuts were gone.

“Thank you,” he said, and his eyes glinted as his mouth curved in a smirk as he walked back to his work.

Tony squinted at his hand, in disbelief, looking for any sign of his cuts. There was only a light pink faded scar, leaving blood that had come from a now missing wound.. Yinsen smiled and patted Tony’s back in a way that said, say something nice, or get back to work. “Thank you for what?” Tony asked.

“For defending me. I may be immortal, but I am not particularly fond of being maimed. The healing process is inconvenient. You, who would believe my life is composed of mad falsehoods, defended me despite your destain. Yinsen is your friend, and your assistant. And yet, you don’t need me, and you risked your well-being to protect me. I’m only here by mistake. You could have let them continue. So thank you.” His smile was small, but it was genuine, pleasant and new..

Tony was a bit taken aback by it. He didn’t say anything; he hadn’t expected that answer. He hadn’t expected any of this. He looked at his hands. The left was dirty, calloused, and scraped. The right was smooth, although still dirty. Loki was helping him, and he had helped Loki. Loki wasn’t just a psychotic, and in the case of any serious injuries, they had a chance to survive. And, while he still found himself hugely skeptical about Loki’s story, he found that the unease had, at least temporarily, subsided.


	3. Unless I Feel You Next To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When sickness ensures they grow closer together. Maybe they're not so different after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by [MyOhMandy ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MyOhMandy/pseuds/MyOhMandy) because she is awesome and I love her.
> 
> Also, expect heavy delays in the future. With school starting both MyOhMandy and I will be busier. I usually have everything written out but I love how she helps me with this story so I rely on her awesome editing skills to make this story 1000x better. I may or may not post an unedited version if an update is too long, but be warned- horrible grammar and cheesy dialogue will be read if it happens. 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter and enjoy the last few days until school (unless you're already starting, in that case pray Loki will destroy your school).

The Ten Rings upped the watches on the trio, but didn’t return for a personal visit for another week. After what’d happened, they’d all made the conscious decision to work much harder on the missile. It was a complicated piece of machinery, and it really wasn’t as hard to make up reasons for delay once they actually got down to building it. Loki worked with a fierce sense of diligence that made it hard to question any mishaps—even the deliberate ones. He had a million different reasons for why different parts of the missile were taking a long time—and a number of them were true—but nobody ever asked. They work for what felt like seven days, and then rested on “Sunday”. The rest is mostly for Yinsen, in respect for the man, and in acknowledgement of his age. They can’t help but wonder how he’s managed to stay sane for so long. But they never ask.

They had a board game, and they used it to pass time. It contained two dice and a spiked pattern on a board. Tony and Yinsen played without Loki, who sat nearby, listening in on their conversation.

“You live nearby?” Tony asked.

“A small village, a very nice place.”

Tony shook the dice in his hands and tossed them on the board. “Got a family?”

“Yes, and I’ll see them when I leave here.” He was lying. Loki kept it to himself.

“And you, Stark?”

Tony looked up, shaking his head. Loki felt another small lie, and Loki found himself wondering if Tony had a family. Definitely not a close one, if so, but…

Yinsen cocked his head. “So you’re a man that has everything, and nothing?” Tony flashed a faint smile and rolled the dice. “What about you, Loki?”  
Loki looked up at the man and saw that he was paying complete attention to him. Tony’s not; still looking at the gameboard with a fake interest. Loki rolled over, laying on his back. “No, no family.”

Tony didn’t look at him, but asked anyway. “Really? No family, friends?”

“They’ve abandoned me.” He replied.

“Or did you abandon them?” Yinsen asked. Tony was a bit surprised at Yinsen’s forwardness, but he watched Loki’s face go dark. He’d hit a nerve. Loki liked Yinsen, but he didn’t like being blamed for his family’s choices. His family had lied to him, treated him like nothing, and goaded him into suicide.

“Why do you presume so?”

Yinsen wiped the lenses of his glasses on his shirt. “It may be attributed to ignorance, but I’ve never seen family abandon their loved one, but I have seen a loved one abandoning his family.”

“Tch, just because you’re family doesn't mean they love you..” Tony articulated. “Dad sending me to boarding school to get me out of the way of his business, mom too busy with politics, reputation, and beauty to even visit me; if that’s not familial abandonment, I don’t know what is..”

‘So,’ Loki thought. ‘That’s why he never talks about his family.’ He’d been ignored the same way Loki had. He was tempted to ask more about it, but second guessed himself and decided to keep his mouth shut. Tony didn’t say anything more on it.

Yinsen rolled the dice and continued the game. “That’s sad to hear. Family is the most important part of—” He broke off suddenly, overcome by a fit of coughing.

“Are you alright?” Loki inquired.

Yinsen opened his mouth to respond and was interrupted by another violent fit. He collapsed then, falling sideways into Tony’s lap.

“Yinsen, Yinsen what’s wrong?”

Loki got to his feet swiftly, placing his hand on the back of Yinsen’s head and frowning deeply. “He’s burning with fever. Hand him to me.” 

Tony carefully transferred Yinsen into Loki’s lap. Loki closed his eyes, his hands on Yinsen’s temples. He hummed quietly. “Bring me a wet cloth.” And Tony sat up without questioning him. He hurriedly watered a rag, ringing it out as he walked back over. He placed it on Yinsen’s head.

It took several minutes for Yinsen’s coughing to subside. In the meantime, Loki ordered Tony to move one of the hay-beds closer to the fire. “He’ll take the blankets, tonight.”

Loki didn’t look up, or even open his eyes, while giving the orders. Tony doesn’t comment on it. He arranges the bed quickly, and then gathers more of the firewood. Loki stands up, offering his arm to Yinsen and half-carrying him to the bed.

Yinsen murmured a quiet thanks, and then passed out. Loki knelt smoothly by his head for several more minutes, a green mist flowing from his head into and into Loki’s hands. After several minutes the mist stops flowing into his hands, and he waved his hand at the door, the mist flowing from his hands and out under the door. Loki stood up straight, brushing himself off as though he wasn’t already filthy.

The billionaire watched, eyebrows furrowed, wrinkles carved in between his eyes. He fought the urge to ask, settling instead with the positive sign of color returning slowly to Yinsen’s face as he slept. Loki glanced at him. “I sent the illness to one of the guards. It should take affect in a matter of seconds.”

One of the men outside coughed violently, and Loki smirked proudly. “Or, perhaps, sooner. But Yinsen requires time for recuperation. Mortal bodies are much more susceptible to outside forces. My powers are still not fully returned. Healing small scars is still difficult,”

Tony took his time responding. Loki was throwing around words like ‘powers’ and ‘forces’ and ‘mortal’. Tony refused to buy into it. He couldn’t explain how Loki was doing what he was doing, but he was convinced that the moment he decided to believe Loki was the moment he’d lost his sanity completely. Yinsen was looking more and more healthy already, and Tony couldn’t help but think that he hadn’t noticed Yinsen’s gradual deterioration into illness. “I’m hallucinating, and you’re psychotic,” He finally said.

“Believe in what you grasp. Your mind is of no concern to me. I only mean to aid his recovery, how you convince yourself I’ve done it is irrelevant.”

Tony nodded, his body beginning to feel cold. The chill was his only hint about the time of day, and if he’d had to guess, it was getting late. Tony’s only jacket was among the tarps Yinsen was using to stay warm, and without it he was beginning to feel the cold even more-so than usual. He inched closer to the fire, and Loki looked down at him silently with an expression of disinterest before sitting next to him. He rubbed his hands together, murmuring almost silently, and the fire burned a little brighter. “I suppose this is the part where we use each other’s body heat?”

Loki looked at him in confusion. “Pardon me?”

“We’ll stay warmer if we’re closer together, and I’m freezing already,”

“Are you hitting on me, Mr. Stark?”

“I’m being serious, it’s cold. It’ll be warmer if we’re close,”

“I don’t think that’ll be a good idea.” Loki looked at him sideways, his letting guard down a bit.

“Why, don't like me back?” He asked, a casual smirk on his face..

“I am cold by nature. My body’s natural temperature is lower than yours. There’d be no benefit in such a thing..”

“Okay, well, too bad, because I’m freezing my ass off. Come here.” Tony moved closer to Loki, wrapping his arm around him and trying to warm his head on Loki’s shoulder. Loki didn’t protest, but stiffened uncomfortably, no longer used to physical contact from anyone but Thor and Frigga. He tried to hold still, but his discomfort was showing on his face. Luckily for him, Tony can’t see it. “You are a little cold. Jesus, though. You acted like you were the iceberg that sunk the titanic.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“About as close to one as you’re going to get,.” The fire crackled, and Loki maintained it’s steady heat flow. Tony started to feel a bit more comfortable.

“You really don’t have a family go home to?” Tony asked, breaking the silence.

He shouldn’t have been surprised by the question. Humans were nosy; it was too much to hope that he’d forget it. “No,” his voice was stiff. “They’ve moved on without me. And you? No siblings?”

Tony shook his head. “My parents died when I was 17 and I’m an only child. But I know my company is waiting, and my friends; Rhodey’s going to kill me.”

“Ah, so someone is waiting for you. You are fortunate.”

Tony laughed. “I guess so, but I’m not Yinsen. A wife, kids, and a warm home to return to. Never had that before.”

“You are not accounted for?”

“Me and commitment? Not good friends. Let’s just say the media titles me as ‘Merchant of Death’—and ‘playboy of the year’. Both titles attract attention.”

Loki looked down at Tony. “Merchant of Death?”

“Affirmative. My company has built weapons for years. I’ve killed…thousands. And almost myself. I can’t wait to leave this hell hole..”

“‘Merchant of Death,” He repeated again, tasting the word. _'It has a nice tone,’_ and Loki smiled to himself. _‘If you’d been around before my fall.’_ “Though I’m a bit surprised. You have no remaining family?”

Tony intended to look at him, but just before he lifted his head, Loki leaned his head down on top of his. It was a movement generally deemed gentle and affectionate, but here, in this place, with this man, he decided it was Loki, defying him from doing the most simplistic of things. “I have a father, mother and older oaf of a brother—”

“Thor, right?”

“Ah, so are you are familiar with what you mortals call ‘Norse Mythology’.”

“Studied it in high school, although I didn’t pay much attention. I enjoyed science and math more. But I do remember some of the myths. Odin’s your dad, Frigga’s your mom, and Thor’s your brother. God of thunder and all. And you, of course, are the god of mischief and lies.” And Loki smiled a bit; it was the first time Tony had spoken to him like he didn’t think he’d lost his mind. “I still don’t believe that you are the Loki.” He admitted.

“If you do not believe in my science, I hardly would expect you that I’m a god.”

Tony carefully pulled away to stretch, but as Loki noticed, he returned a second later. “So are the myths true?”

“More or less.”

Tony yawned again, nuzzling his head into Loki’s shoulder in a childish, obnoxious sort of way, and Loki laughed a bit to himself, wrapping his arm around Tony.

“You gave birth to a horse?”

“I should have expected that question. But yes, I did. Then my father took him from me, to use as a common horse,” his voice was bitter. “I rarely see him.”

“Well—” He paused to yawn, “—what a douche..” Tony’s breathing was deeper. “That’s all I remember… can you tell me some more?”

“You would like to listen to one of my past adventures?”

“Sure, what else do we have to do down here? But don’t mind me if I fall asleep.”

Loki’s smile was bright. “Of course. Would you like to hear the story where Thor was forced to dress as his mother to get ahold of Mjölnor?”

Tony laughed and closes his eyes. “Only if you give every detail.”

Loki spend the rest of the “night” talking about his adventures with Thor, and Asgard, and of his younger years. He relived the details from the story of Thor’s drag adventure in Joutiem in search of his hammer, telling Tony of his tall, broad shouldered and muscular and bearded older brother wearing a dress and awfully done makeup. Tony laughed lightly, occasionally commenting, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Loki looked at Yinsen, who was still completely dead to the world. He pushed off some of the blankets, and lowered the fire. Tony snored on Loki’s shoulder, and laughed quietly to himself. His back grew sore after some time, however, and he carefully laid Tony on his back. He laid down next to him, about a foot or so away, only to have the man inch closer and wrap his arms around him, resting his head on Loki’s shoulder in his sleep. Loki was a uncomfortable, but he didn’t move away.

He sighed contentedly as the fire crackled and swallowed its last log, the light dim flickering. Loki’s eyes traveled from the suit on the wall, to Yinsen, to Tony.

He wished to himself that he was at full strength with more ferocity than before. He wanted desperately to transport them home, and yet, he wasn’t anywhere near strong enough. He was using magic faster than he was regaining it. Yinsen’s soul was growing wearier everyday, Tony’s sanity and motivation slipping away as the hours passed, unmarked.

The suit was almost complete and its weapons would be lethal enough to kill the guards. They were going to have to count on it having enough power to disarm the guards and help them make an escape.

He made a promise to himself that night.

They were going to leave this damn cave alive.


	4. Take the Pain I Feel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They had a way, they were going to be free, but not with the consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by [MyOhMandy ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MyOhMandy/pseuds/MyOhMandy)
> 
> Sorry for the lack of updates this thing called life decided that fanfiction isn't meant for society, but we said to hell! Okay point is there's going to be more delays due to life and school.   
> Everything has been looked over twice so hopefully there aren't any verb tense errors that were pointed out last chapter. Enjoy!

They fell into a rut, the next few days; they had a strict schedule composed of eating, working, and sleeping. They told each other stories by the fire each night before they fell asleep. The ten rings barged in from time to time, pointing their guns and feeding their fear with intimidation and forcing them to work harder, and harder, and harder. There wasn’t a lot of conversation during the day; there were only instructions and corrections. Loki, by this point, had found cameras here and there in the cave, and quietly pointed them out to Tony, who said they seemed to only be recording video, and not audio.

Loki pinpointed the locations of all of the cameras, drawing them discreetly on a very simply diagram so that Tony could put the suit in a blind spot. Most of the cameras were by the doorway, and so they used a large metal hanger to prop up the suit, turned at an angle so that the suit wasn’t properly visible. Loki, meanwhile, did all of his work for the Jericho missile in plain view to distract their captors as much as he could.

They slept in shifts to increase their efficiency; two working while one slept. Tony hardly slept at all. Yinsen was given the first sleeping shift, after which point Tony encouraged Loki to take the following turn. Tony then insisted that Yinsen take the third shift, and Loki take the fourth. Loki coaxed Tony into taking the fifth shift, telling him he only had to sleep for a few hours. Tony protested like a child, and Loki treated him like one, escorting him to his cot and making him lay in it. Loki used a light sleeping spell and tucked him in under the blankets. About an hour later, he started screaming.  
He was thrashing and yelling, ripping the blankets off and making seize-like movements on the floor. Thinking quickly. Loki climbed on top of him, straddling him and pinning his arms down, speaking softly to Tony until he woke, sobbing and covered in sweat, completely confused as to what had happened. Loki explained what’d happened, but when asked about his nightmare, Tony denied remembering it. With little else they could do for him, Loki let him join them in working again, only to notice Tony’s eyes drifting shut as he worked, fighting off sleep. Loki took the tools away from him, telling him again he needed to sleep.

“You slept well previously, on the night of Yinsen’s ailment, and yet now tremor with night terrors. What has changed?”

Tony rubbed his eye. “I don’t know, I was okay, then but now everytime I close my eyes I…”

Loki handed Tony the rag he used for a pillow and handed it to Tony. “Rest,” he insisted.

He laid down, pulling the blanket over himself. “It’s not going to make a difference. I can’t sleep.”

“Shh, just close your eyes, and let me help.” He sat on his knees next to Tony, putting his hands on either side of his face to massage his temple as he he hummed a quiet lullaby. Tony grumbled complaints for the first minute or so. He was asleep by the end of the second. When he returned to his work, Yinsen was smiling at him.

“Did you need something?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Do not dismiss me, what are you smiling for?”

“I was just thinking back when the two of you arrived. You always argued, looking ready to commit murder simply to be rid of each other’s company. Now you protect each other and work closely. A friendship not even needing words.

Loki rolled his eyes. “I believe you are mistaken. We are all ‘protecting’ each other from those men. And we do not work closely, he designed the missile so I ask him how to assemble it.”

Yinsen’s smile didn’t change, and Loki scoffed at him before turning his focus back to his work. Yinsen, however, wasn’t content with silence any longer.

“What are your plans when you leave?”

“What do you mean?”

“Stark has his company, I have my family, what of yours? There must be someone you are to return to.”

Loki scowled at the missile. “As I said before, they’re gone. I have no one but myself and my magic. I hadn’t ever intended to land anywhere, when I fell.”

Yinsen sighed. “That is sad. You should go with Stark, I think, if not back to your family. I think he would enjoy the companionship.”

“Unless we kill each other first.”

Yinsen laughed. “I guess that is more likely. But do not be afraid to ask for help.”

Loki didn’t answer, pointedly continuing on his work, screwing a bolt into the missile. His mind began to wander to thoughts of home, as it had many times before, and he came to he same conclusion he had all the other times. His family had abandoned him, or, in his father’s case, had never loved him in the first place. He was no more than a trophy, or a coin, having been stolen for later trade. How ironic it was to him, that he should be the god of lies, when he was raised by them.

Thor, he knew, was different. His brother’s eyes had been filled with betrayal and genuine sorrow when they had faced off on the bifrost. He had also come to help Loki when he thought he was in trouble, catching air when he reached for his brother’s hand. Thor would know by now, had to know what Loki really was; a monster. He wondered if the entire kingdom knew the whole truth, if they were rallying in his death.

They should’ve known, though, hadn’t they? That he was still alive? Heimdall would be able to spot him from here, in this little Midgardian cave, low on strength and energy, held as a common prisoner. He could think of no reason that he would be out of the man’s view, as Loki hadn’t used any spells to throw him off the sent. He wondered what they’d do, what they were going to do, if anything. Would they send for his head? Or send Thor in an attempt to salvage him? If so, why hadn’t he seen anyone from Asgard yet?

There was only explanation, and he knew it. Heimdall had not told anyone of his survival, choosing instead to watch him from the broken bridge, to see him struggle among humans. Thor had no way of knowing, no way of finding out, and Loki had no way of telling him, even if he’d wanted to. 

He wrapped his arms around himself and rocked back and forth. This was his punishment—this was his punishment. “This is my punishment.”

“Loki?” Yinsen asked. He looked up and realized that tears were streaming down Loki’s face; that he was crying for the first time.

“No one is coming for me—no one—no one!” Yinsen ran to Loki’s side, trying to calm him down, but Loki pushed him away. “He’s not-not going to t-tell them I’m alive—he will never know, he won’t find me!” He broke into a hysterical laughter, the tears still sliding down his face. I’ve been abandoned, he can’t find me, he doesn’t know! Anthony—Anthony has his friends and you have your family! I have no one!”

Loki’s knees buckled, and he fell to them. Yinsen leaned down, stroking his hair, and Loki, in a desperate moment of weakness, sobbed, holding Yinsen’s sleeve, unable to stop repeating the words to himself. “I am no one. I have no one,” Yinsen continued to caress Loki’s hair, trying to calm him, overriding his hysterics with promises of a better future. But Loki knew he was wrong. Yinsen would return to his family, and Tony would return to his fame, to his company, and his friends. And he would have nowhere to go.

Loki woke to the crackling of the fire and the sound of scrap metal falling off of a table. He was on his side, facing the cave’s wall, the blanket draped low on him. He pulled it up and rolled over, watching his companions work. Tony was handling a circuit of some sort and YInsen was whispering something in his ear. Tony replied in quiet whispers, quick and to the point answers. There was a green glow flowing in front of Tony.

Loki groaned, propping himself up on his elbows. Tony glanced up at him before putting down the circuit, pouring a water into a cup, and bringing it to him. He took a long drink of it, his throat dry from crying. “Thank you,”

“I think I should be thanking you for before.” He replied. “Whatever you did to make me sleep like that—I could do with a strong does every night.”

“Then your night terrors subsided?”

“Yup, I feel great. But anyways, are you okay? Yinsen told me you passed out working while I was asleep.”

Loki glanced at Yinsen, who had his head down as he focused on his work. “Did he?”

“Yeah. You should rest more.” He paused, and glanced at the camera in the corner of his eye before continuing. “We’re almost done. We can break out of here in a couple of hours.”

“What? Are you sure?” He was taken completely by surprise. He looked at the suit, which he had for the most part, not noticed. It looked done. How had he not noticed? “But how?”

Tony smiled. “I’ll explain soon. Get some more rest if you need to—this is going to be big, and I don’t wanna have you passing out in the middle of the escape.”

Loki nodded, and went back to sleep, waking up feeling considerably better. The missile also looked done—from the outside, at least. The inside was filled with bits and pieces of tech that were completely useless. The rectangular device on the table was making noises, and he could feel the heat from where he was. Yinsen and Tony were standing in front of the armor, staring at it the way one stares at a suspicious boat when stranded in the middle of the ocean. “Are you guys ready?”

Loki had been in charge of setting up the bomb in the main doorway. Tony had warned him that he needed his hands to stay very steady; the wires were extremely sensitive. He had to stop himself from glancing up at Yinsen, who was helping Tony into the armor. He couldn’t see Tony in it from here. Loki finished with the wires and hurried to help. “Everything is prepared.” He confirmed. Tony looked at them very seriously as he recited the plan a final time; he was going to draw their attention to the room to get them to the room, at which point Tony would attack them. He would then destroy everything in the room—getting rid of any schematics and sketches he was leaving behind. Loki and Yinsen would have to stick close to him the entire time.

Loki was screwing the last bolts in place when the peephole to their cell opened. Two different voices yelled through it in a foreign language. “What’s he saying?” Tony whispered.

Yinsen looked worried. “I don’t know, he’s speaking Hungarian.”

“Then yell something back! Anything!”

Yinsen yelled something in another language, and the men responded with more yelling. The door burst open, and the explosions detonated, killing both of the men.

“Okay—okay what do I do?” Yinsen’s voice was filled with panic.

“Hit F11 and Control one!” He said hurriedly. Yinsen’s hands were shaking as he followed the orders. A progress bar popped up and began to load.

“Loki, put on the final buckles.” Tony ordered.

Loki hurried to the other side, throwing down the screw driver and strapped on the metal holders as more men rushed to the room. He goes to Tony’s side and strapped on the metal holders when they hear the men’s footsteps echo through the cave.

“They’re coming…”

Tony shook his head. “It’s okay, there’s still time, just put on the last—”

Yinsen glanced at the screen. “There’s not enough time. Stay here.”

“Wh-where are you going?!”

“To buy us some time,” He grabbed one of the guns that had belonged to the dead guards.

“Stick to the plan!” Tony protested.

Yinsen didn’t listen. He ran out of the room, gun in hand.

“Curse this infernal cave..” Loki muttered. He picked up Yinsen’s screw driver and started screwing in the bolts on Yinsen’s side. The progress bar was at eighty percent. They heard yelling and gunfire from the hallway.

Then there was only the sound of footsteps, rushed and urgent, in their direction. 

“Are you ready, Anthony?”

Tony nodded and Loki placed the helmet on his head, securing it to his shoulders. He glanced at the computer as the progress bar reached one hundred percent. “Stay behind me,” Tony whispered.

Loki had his back against the armor. His eyes were closed as he steadied his breathing, waiting for the first attack. The men came around the corner of the hall, confused. the entrance of the cave but they stop in the darkness, confused and yelling at each other. Two of the men entered eyes wide as they stared down at their dead comrades. The lights flickered on and off, and Loki could see the movement of Tony’s armored hand. One of the men turned, facing Tony and Loki, rushing at them and yelling. Tony punched him, sending him crashing into the wall. The people at the doorway opened fire, not knowing it was useless. The bullets wouldn’t harm Loki, and through the armor, were no threat to Tony. There was a pause and more yelling in the darkness.

Two of the men glanced at each other, and Tony rushed at them, shoving them into the wall. The third man shot at the armor, only to have it rebound, killing him. Loki, quick and as lithe as a snake, had picked up a gun and began to fire at the men. 

The men of the Ten Rings, having no other choice, were firing still at them with their guns, refusing to give up. Tony simply shoved them out of the way as they made their escape, the metal making unfriendly sounds as they went. Loki hoped it wouldn’t fail them, now of all times.

‘It just needs to last until we get out of here.’

The men were starting to realize the futility of the situation. Some were stand and firing still, preferring to face death or injury than run. Some felt differently.

Most of them ran, shutting a set of heavy doors behind them, leaving one man alone with the escapees in the hallway. 

“Loki?” Tony offered.

The man dropped the gun, realizing it was having no effect on the god. He turned and pounded on the door, terrified, screaming in another language.   
Loki walked briskly around Tony, grabbing the man by the throat and slamming him against the wall, a smirk across his face. Loki gave him a hard, long, look into the eyes before smacking his head back against the metal doors and tossing him aside—dead or unconscious. Loki stepped aside for Tony, and he broke the door down.  
Tony swung his man at an attacker, who ducked. His arm went right into the cave wall, and stuck there in the rock. The man fired his gun uselessly at Tony.

Ricocheted bullets claimed yet another victim. Loki grabbed the metal arm, pulling it out of the wall. They moved on quickly. 

 

They rounded another corner and their hearts sank. There was Yinsen, lying on his back, bleeding. “Yinsen!” Loki and Tony yelled.

 

“Watch out!”

 

They looked up barely in time to duck as the leader of the ten rings fired a grenade launcher at them. Tony fired a small missile at him—it missed, hitting rocks that collapsed on him, knocking him out.

They hurried to Yinsen’s side.

“Mr. Stark? Loki?” 

Loki searched desperately for the wounds. 

Tony lifted off the face plate. 

“Stay calm, Yinsen. It’s okay. We’re going to get you out of here,” Tony promised, his eyes serious, not revealing any of the panic swelling inside of him. “You were supposed to stick to the plan.”

Loki hovered his hands over the blood on Yinsen. “I think maybe I can—”

“This was always the plan,” Yinsen interrupted Loki quietly.

“No it’s not, you idiot. You gonna die here in this cave? What about your family?” Tony insisted.

“My family…died…in the village, where I am from…and now I can see them again,”  
His hand weakly pushed away Loki’s hand, and he smiled. “I-it’s okay. I want this. I want this.”

Loki looked away, his teeth grinding together in anger.

“Thank you for saving us.” Tony said, his heart heavy.

“Don’t waste it.” His breathing slowed and stopped, the light in his eyes going out like a light.

Loki wiped his eyes, taking off his thick, leather Asgardian coat and placing it over Yinsen.

They didn’t say anything for a few moments, staying with Yinsen’s lifeless body.  
Tony straightened up, replacing the faceplate. He looked at Loki, who stood up silently.

The soldiers were waiting for them at the exit of the cave. They opened fire immediately, wasting their bullets until the guns were empty.

“My turn,” Tony breathed.

He activated the flamethrowers on his wrists, burning the men too close to him. He fired more small missiles, and Loki grabbed a gun from one of the men as he writhed on the floor in pain, firing back at them. There were more men coming, however, and they both knew they couldn’t keep this up forever. The suit was only going to work for so long.

Tony lifted up a plate on his left arm, revealing a red button. “Take my arm!” And Loki grabbed him immediately, pushing the button. “Hold on!”

The machine began to lift off of the ground, fire spurting from Tony’s feet, and he aimed them away. They made it at least two miles away before the suit gave out, sending them falling. Tony yelled, and Loki, thinking quickly, did his best to slow their fall.

They landed hard. But they were alive.

They laid in the sand, the only sound a light breeze whooshing past their ears, until Loki sat up, pulling himself out of the sand. He crawled lazily over to Tony, removing the armor. They didn’t need it anymore.

Tony groaned, watching Loki carelessly yank the armor off of him, dramatically throwing his head back into the sand. Loki laughed, getting off the last of the armor and tossing it to the side before collapsing onto his back again, panting in time with Tony, who was noticeably more bruised than he was. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered.

They were free.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally free Tony and Loki are flown back to the states with Tony's big announcement to the future of Stark Industries. But even though they went through so much Loki still wants to go back to Asgard and have his revenge, yet he refuses to allow Tony to be involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, here's the new chapter~ Like I warned earlier, expect delayed updates (I haven't even started chapter 6). However if you feel like reading random crack check out 'Five Times Fondue' based on my Judas!Verse, just crack-tastic Cap/Coulson and Loki walking into them. 
> 
> Edited by [MyOhMandy ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MyOhMandy/pseuds/MyOhMandy) as usual because her editing is amazing :D

So, saying they were “free” was a bit of an exaggeration. It was true that they’d escaped the cave, and in doing so outrun the terrorists, and yet the two men now found themselves at the mercy of the cruel, unforgiving desert. It took Tony half and hour to remove the sand from his pants. He tied his coat like a turban around his head, and Loki used his magic to form a weak barrier against the sun’s intense rays, and it flickered as they walked.

Their actions were done in complete silence. They stumbled pathetically through the sand, their feet dragging after the first hour as the sand, occasionally falling to their knees, at which point the other would stop, waiting silently as the other dragged themselves up. Neither of them knew where they were going. They just dragged on, no real idea of where they were going. They do no talk to each other while they stumble through the sand, once in a while falling on their hands due to the unevenness of the ground. Both were unfamiliar with the region and therefore had no true sense of direction, just hoping that they would find civilization.

The hours were melting together. They were tired, hot, and their skin felt like fire. Tony’s lips were cracked and unsightly, Loki’s less fragile form was a deep pink and dry as bone. Their throats were like sandpaper; their legs like jello, and only the fierceness of their will allowed them to continue, knowing that a hot day would soon turn into a freezing night if they weren’t found soon.  
It didn’t come to that. Tony at first thought it was a mirage, his mouth falling open in silent shock when he saw the two helicopters in the distance. Loki stopped, unsure of what the two things were. Tony, however, seemed alive with silent joy. 

As they flew to the men, Tony collapsed to his knees, knowing that he no longer neeed to stand. They were saved. He held up two fingers in a peace sign (confusing Loki further). A dry scream of happiness sounded pathetically from his throat, and he managed to yell,

“Here!”

One of the helicopters landed, and several men in military uniforms (guns in hand) immediately jumped out, running first to Tony, their eyes filled with disbelief.

One of them in particular had tears running down his face, looking overwhelmed with joy. Tony smiled at him, and had he not been dehydrated, he knew he would’ve cried as well,

“How was the fun-vee?” asked, falling to his knees in front of Tony and embracing him. “Next time, you ride with me, okay?” He stood up, helping Tony in the process. He noticed Loki for seemingly the first time. “A friend?”

Tony put on the best cheeky grin he could accomplish in the circumstances, his dry lips protesting. “Yeah. Now lets get our asses out of here—it’s fucking hot!” He croaked.

The man laughed, unable to contain his relief. He steadied Tony’s weight against his side, and the men all climbed into the helicopter—reluctantly, in Loki’s case.

The helicopter took them to the nearest military base, where they give more water, food, and basic medical treatment along with new clothes. Loki, who had nearly baked himself alive in his leather, was wordlessly thankful.

Tony’s arm—which, as it turned out, was fractured, had to be put into a temporary sling, and Loki had a stress fracture in his ankle heavily wrapped up. Rhodey—Tony’s friend—was with them the entire time, asking question after question about the terrorists and their escape. Tony brushed him off, and Loki remained silent, until the arc reactor came up.

“And what the hell is that thing?” Rhodey asked, staring pointedly at his chest.

Tony tapped on the metal plate. “This, my dear Rhodes, is keeping me alive. Yinsen made the prototype with a car battery, and I made this. Saved my life.”

Rhodey raised an eyebrow. “Yinsen?” he glanced at Loki.

Loki looked back at him for a brief moment, before averting his eyes to the medical equipment. “Yinsen—was the other captive in the cave with us. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Rhodey’s eyes showed concern, but he kept it to himself for now. He looked at his watch. “I called a plane the second we found you, should be here in a couple of hours.” He said. “I need to handle some official business until it gets here. You going to be alright?”

Tony nodded, and Rhodey patted him lightly on his shoulder and went away.

Tony turned to Loki. “Don’t suppose that just because we’ve escaped captivity you can just yell ‘Beam me up, Scotty!’ and go home, huh?”

Loki gave him a strange look, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms before staring up, as if straight through the ceiling. He’d gotten no sign that Thor had any idea where he was or any intentions of finding him; no word had been sent, no lighting struck, no clouds formed. Heimdall remained silent, and Loki could not make it back to his home on his own. He was free, free to wander and become lost on this planet, alone.

“I am unfortunately rather grounded here,” he replied.

“That’s what I thought, since you’ve never properly taken roots on earth.”

Loki scoffed. “The Midgardian finally accepts the truth.”

“I didn’t say that. I never said I thought you were a god. What I am saying is that you’re an alien. I am, however, offering you a place to stay. I have a beach house in California—that’s a state, in America—and it has plenty of space.”

“You are offering to house me?”

He cocked his head to the side. “You would house me?” and his voice showed more malice than he intended—though, he hoped, it got the point across. Tony and Loki had tolerated each other in captivity—but living together, without a buffer between their egos—it was almost surely going to end in mess, especially with Loki trying to avenge himself against Asgard.

“Yeah, you have to admit we make a pretty good team.”

Loki shook his head. “Take my word Anthony, you do not want me around.”

Tony turned his head to look at Loki. “Or maybe you should just take mine and get past your ego. And don’t call me Anthony. My dad called me Anthony. Tony is just fine. Anthony is a definite no.”

“Thank you for the offer, _Tony_ , but I still, I must decline.”

“What, you’d rather be homeless than live with me one more day? Let me get you a place, at least.”

“I do not need your charity.”

“But you do need a roof over your head. We’ve been through a lot of shit together, I’m not going to let you leave prison just to join the streets. Let me make the arrangements, at least. You don’t even have to deal with me if you don’t want to.”

Loki knew Tony was right. He had no place to go without his help.

“I accept your offer, though the latter isn’t a requirement. Thank you.”

Tony smiled, nodding in approval. “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up when the plane gets here, Leather Pants.”

Loki rolled his eyes but didn’t respond. He was too anxious to be sleepy. Exhausted, yes. But not tired. Tony’s allies carried weapons not unlike what their captors had threatened them with, though their personalities were entirely different. Occasionally a man or two would come in and check in on them, and while Loki knew they meant no harm, he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable, still being watched so closely.

—-

A plane, Loki learned, served the same function as a helicopter, in a different shape and of much larger mass. Tony explained quietly that it belonged to the American military, and was therefore much more formal and less comfortable than most—especially when one factored in the serving women and leather seating Rhodey later said Tony was accustomed to. He wasn’t particularly uncomfortable, however, and so he didn’t complain. 

Tony found himself too busy making apartment arrangements to stop and talk to Loki. Loki overheard him saying things like “apartment by the beach” and “Pepper will kill me”, but waited patiently for Tony to address him. Loki took several naps throughout the plane ride, the last being gently interrupted by Tony, a giant grin on his face.“Hey, we’re here.”

Loki stood up and straightened his clothes, They stood patiently at the back of the plane, and Rhodey held Tony’s hand. The officials offered a wheelchair to each of them—they both declined immediately. The door opened, and the sun shone too brightly. There was a small crowd of people waiting on the other side, some in military outfits, and others in suits. One person in particular—a ginger haired woman in a grey suit—stood out. She was dressed and done up just as professionally as all the others, but her eyes were red and her face was tear stained. She smiled at Tony.

Rhodey let Tony go. “Hmmm. Your eyes are red. Tears for your long lost boss?” Tony smiled back at her.

She wiped them away. “Tears of joy, I hate job hunting.”

“Well vacation’s over. Let’s go.” A man in a dark suit opened a door to a long black car.

“You must be Loki.” She said. The woman had her hand out and Loki shook it. “Rhodey told me about you. I’m Pepper Pots, Tony’s personal assistant.”

Loki smiled. “Tony pays you to tolerate him?”

She laughed. “That’s what’s putting bread on my table. Happy, take us to the hospital—”

“No.” Tony interrupted.

“No? Tony, you have both to go to a hospital.”

“No hospitals; you know I hate hospitals. We’ve been in captivity for 3 months and there are two things I want, an American cheeseburger and-”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “You’re hurt! And not just you, Tony! Look at Loki! What about him?”

They all glanced at Loki, who was still awkwardly readjusting in his seat between them. The attention only made him more uncomfortable. “I am good, thank you, Although I could definitely go for a meal,”

Tony smiled. “See, we’re hungry, not hurt. And while Happy takes us to Burger King, I want you to call for a press conference.”

Happy started the car engine. “Press conference?”

“Yes. Happy, start driving.” He paused. “Cheeseburger first, though,”

Pepper and Tony argued about the hospital the entire time they were in the car. Tony refused to allow himself to be taken to a hospital, and Pepper was worried something serious could’ve been wrong with him. Loki sat quietly, staring out the window as they drove.

Wherever it was Thor had landed, it looked nothing like this. This part of earth consisted of buildings and crows and plant life. The place where Thor had landed was dry, the ground made of a thick, sandy clay, with a dry, hot climate and few buildings to suit a small population. 

At the drive through, Tony ordered five cheeseburgers. Pepper’s face twisted, looking a bit nauseated at the by the greasy consistency of the food. He ignored her, giving one to Loki, and he acknowledged silently that Pepper had a reason for being a bit disgusted. In spite of the greasy, no-doubt unhealthy quality of the food, Loki ate it, glad to be eating something other than the same slop they’d been fed in captivity. Loki had already been slim going in, and he now found his ribs definitely more defined. 

When the car pulled over it was by a large, imposing crowd of people with flashing electronic devices and long sticks they held up to their mouths. They clapped, all looking too excited to see them.

A man broke from the crowd and opened the door of their car, embracing Tony as he climbed out of the car. “Tony! I thought you’d be in the hospital! I mean—look at you!”

Tony didn’t reply, snagging another cheeseburger from the bag before walking into the building. The crowd followed them, cameras snapping and questions coming from all directions. Tony waved at them, obviously more focused on his cheeseburger than them. Pepper stayed off to the side, and Loki stood with her. She smiled professionally as the man who had greeted them walked behind Tony to the podium area. 

A balding man in a black and white suit approached them. He was wearing sunglasses indoors. Tony recognized him immediately—it was a man that Thor had known during his time on earth, one of his allies. He’d been the one to instruct the mortals to run tests on Mjölnor, setting up a camp around it. The man had even tried order Loki—of all people—to stand down and call back the destroyer. 

Loki knew it wasn’t the time to think on that, however. He looked at Coulson, refusing to give him any reason to be suspicious of him.

“Ms. Potts? May I have a word with you?”

“Oh! I’m actually here for Tony’s speech.”

“Of course.” They stand to view Tony. “I’m Agent Phil Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.” He handed her a small piece of paper.

“That’s quite a mouthful.” She replied.

“We’re working on shortening the name.” He smiled politely.

Pepper placed the card in her purse after a quick glance before explaining that they’d already spoken with the goverment—the DOD and FBI and other strange acronyms, and he replied patiently that SHIELD needed to debrief Tony based on the circumstances of his mistake.

“I’ll put it in the book,” She replied, and the three turned their attention to Tony as he took command of the crowd.

The man, whom Pepper had identified as Obidiah Stane, was preparing to make a speech. He glanced down at Tony, where he discovered that Tony was sitting on the floor, legs crossed.

“Um—would it be okay if everyone just sat down? That way I can see you guys,”

The crowd looked confused. They glanced around at each other, not saying anything, until one of them made the silent decision to sit down. The rest followed suit; it was better, they thought, to do as asked and hope for information, than stand and question such a basic request. “It’s a little less formal—but thanks.” Tony pulled out yet another burger from the inside of his coat, taking a bite out of it before talking.

Pepper and Loki sat down as well. Rhodey, being military, kneeled.

“What’s going on?” He whispered.

“Who knows what’s going on in his head,”

It seemed to Loki that there would only be two reasons Tony might ask the crowd to sit down; one, he was tired, and not in the mood, and two, because he didn’t give a fuck.

They reporters and paparazzi were uncharacteristically quiet, waiting for Tony to say something further.

“I never got to say goodbye to my father. There’s questions I would’ve asked him. I would’ve asked him how he felt about what his company did, if he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch of man we remember from the newsreels.” He took pause. “I saw…young Americans killed…by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero-accountability.”

The crowd was dead silent. Loki closed his eyes, waiting for Tony to get to the point.

A brave reporter raised his hand. Tony nodded at him silently. “Mr. Stark, What happened over there?”

Tony stood and approached the podium. “I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I had more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons—” the reporters lurched to their feet in a sudden, horrifying movement, all quickly yelling out questions. “Manufacturing division of Stark Industries—” Obidiah hurried to him, trying to get him off stage. “until I can decide on a future—” the rest of his words were lost to the crowd as Obidiah removed him from the podium.

Loki struggled to hear Tony through the yelling, and by the time he was standing, Obidiah had taken his place, putting in quick closing statement. He glanced at Pepper and Rhodey, both of whom clearly had known nothing about the announcement he’d been planning to make.

Had Tony just shut down his company?

Tony pushed himself over to the two of them. “Pepper, take Loki back home. Start looking for apartments. Happy, come with me.”

“Tony, wait—” Loki called. But Tony was gone, having disappeared in the opposite direction with Happy as Pepper took his arm firmly and led him to the door.

“Sorry about this, Loki. Gotta get out of here.”

Rhodey took them to Tony’s house. Pepper had started the search on their way by means of her smart phone. Loki looked impatiently out the window again, observing more scenery. The tall buildings soon disappeared, morphing instead into a large mountainside with small, scattered houses. He could see the ocean now, the small waves carrying boats in the distance.

“Like the view?” Pepper asked.

“Yes, it is magnificent.”

She laughed. “You and Tony have the same taste. Luckily I found a two of available apartments on the beachfront and close to his house. We can go look at them tomorrow.”

“Actually I wouldn’t mind going now, Ms. Potts.”

He saw Rhodey glance back at them in the rear view mirror. “Are you sure? You’re not tired?

“I’m wide awake and very curious about these ‘apartment’s.”

Pepper nodded her approval. “Okay,” And she read the address off of her phone as Rhodey got off the freeway. The neighborhood, it turned out, was very suburban; people jogged on the sidewalks under the cover of palm trees, leashes in their hands as their dogs sprinted next to them. There were no suits, no briefcases, and no overly straightened postures. Only lose or small amounts of completely informal, comfortable looking clothing, their faces glinting with suntan lotion.

Rhodey parked, and Pepper led them to the apartments. From where they were Loki could see the sand—and found that it seemed nothing like the sand of Afghanistan. It was a golden, inviting shade of brown, and water rushed up to hug it. There were children on the beach, splashing in the water while their parents sat comfortably under umbrellas on beach towels or reclined in chairs, all worries thrown to the wayside. About half a mile away Loki could see a large white house sitting precariously on the edge of a cliff. Pepper saw him looking. “That’s Tony’s mansion.”

“It really sticks out.” Loki said.

Pepper and Rhodey laughed. “That’s Tony,”

The apartments were elevated by the hillside, and they had to walk up a long wooden staircase to get to them. The wood creaked under them as they walked—and one of the boards actually broke when Rhodey stepped on it. Loki turned quickly and grabbed his arm, stopping his leg from falling through.

“Maybe we should go to the other apartment…” Pepper suggested.

Loki looked at the view of Tony’s house. It was wonderful. “I’ll go on ahead. I want to see it.”

“Really?” Pepper asked.

“Yes.” He said, throwing back a quick glance before continuing up the stairs. Finally having reached the top, they walked into the apartment complex and took the elevator to the seventh floor.

It was room 15G. Loki knocked on the open door before patiently stepping inside. The only thing in the room was a dusty bookshelf, still holding a myriad of untouched books. Rhodey sneezed—the entire apartment was dusty.

A woman walked in from another room, seeing them and holding out her hand to Pepper.

“Oh! Welcome! Are you Ms. Potts?” She held out her hand and Pepper shook it and nodded. “The Pepper Potts, Tony’s Stark’s personal assistant?”

“Yes, Mrs. Johnson, right?”

“Real estate agent of Malibu Apartments, yes. Now, why would Stark send his assistant to this trash heap when he has that marvelous beach house just mile from here?”

Pepper looked at Loki awkwardly. “Actually, it’s for his friend.” The woman looked at Loki and realized what she’d said.

“Oh! Well, welcome. Thank you for considering this as your potential new home, now come in.”

The apartment was small, especially compared to the palace in Asgard. But Loki wasn’t overly picky. There was one bathroom, located inside of the bedroom, and a living room and kitchen of equal size. The winning factor was the balcony, from which he had a perfect view of not only the ocean, but Tony’s mansion. The real estate agent was talking, but he wasn’t listening. He looked instead to the bookshelf, where he stood, eyes scanning over the spines, fingers grazing them as his lips read their names. They were all aged books, classics and encyclopedias.

“Excuse me, was the previous owner going to take these books back?” Loki interrupted.

“Oh! No, actually, he said it was too much to bring to his new home. He was going to sell them. There have been a couple of curious buyers here and there, but none that have seemed overly serious. We would have it put into storage if you—”

Loki raised his hand. “No need, I like reading. Ms. Potts, I believe I will take this establishment, and these books.”

Pepper and Rhodey looked at each other incredulously, and the realtor’s eyes glittered with joy. “That’s wonderful! Let me grab the papers so you know what you’re looking at.” She hurried to her briefcase, which she’s left on the kitchen counter.

“Loki, are you sure you want this place? We haven’t seen the other apartment.” Pepper asked.

“Plus, I’m pretty sure I just saw a giant cockroach-rat thing crawl into the bedroom.” Rhodey added.

Loki smiled. “I’ll make it work.”

—-

The realtor had been more than happy to bring them the papers, but the apartment was ready to be lived in yet. A contract needed to be drawn up, the apartment needed to be cleaned, and furniture needed to be bought. It was all a technicality to Loki. He could’ve, should it turn his fancy, simply conjure up contracts and furniture. There was one major roadblock, however.

His identity. Loki was, ironic as it was, an illegal alien. He had no social security number, no ID’s, no passport—as far as the world was concerned, Loki Laufeyson didn’t exist, and while the rent would go in Tony’s name, it went without saying that one couldn’t get very far in America without some proof that you actually exist.

When asked about it, Loki had lied to Pepper, saying he’d lost his ID long before he’d been rescued, and that he didn’t remember his Social anymore as a result of a head injury he’d suffered in captivity.

So, until the kinks of the situation could be worked out, Loki was going to stay in the mansion. When they arrived, they met Happy at the door, who explained that Tony had gone straight into his lab. Rhodey groaned.“I’ll try to get him to eat.”

 

“Would you like a snack?” Pepper asked as she headed to the kitchen.

“Yes, thank you.”

“JARVIS, please prepare our guest something to eat.”

_‘Of course Ms. Potts.’_

Loki jumped in surprise as the voice descended from seemingly nowhere. He glanced around in confusion, finding that they were still alone. Pepper noticed and laughed. “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce you. Loki, this is JARVIS, Tony’s personal AI.”

“AI?”

“Artificial Intelligence; a smart computer that he programmed into his buildings and phone.” She leaned against the counter, not getting out any tools or food. He waited for her to do something, confused, only to be surprised as a the countertop opened up, a tray of crackers and cheeses appearing. “Thank you, JARVIS.”

“So, he’s a computer?” He thought about the robot in the cave.

Pepper took the tray to set it on the coffee table and gestured for Loki to sit on the couch with her. “Yes—although, neither JARVIS or Tony like calling him that.”

_‘It offends me so. I am able to function almost fully on my own, unlike that prehistoric device that still needs to be connected to a wire to access the internet.’_

“He’s developed a personality.”

Loki picked up one of the crackers and cheese and bit into it. It had less flavor than he was used to, but he didn’t mind it. “Thank you Ms. Potts, JARVIS.”

“You’re welcome, and please, call me Pepper.” Pepper? She was named after a spice? “Mr. Loki Laufeyson will be staying with us for a couple of days; will you prepare a spare bedroom?”

_‘Yes, Ms. Potts.’_

“I’ll find you some spare clothes, although I doubt Tony’s old ones even fit you.”

He wiped the crumbs off his chin. “I appreciate that but it won’t be necessary.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

Should he tell her that with a snap of his fingers he could replace his lost wardrobe? His energy level was the highest it had ever been since he’d landed on earth. ‘Well, why hell not?’ he thought. “I’ll show you—”

“Well, I should warn you. Now that Tony’s got an idea, he won’t likely be making an appearance anytime soon.” Rhodey announced, coming up the staircase. “JARVIS is going to leave food for him though who knows if he’ll eat it.”

Pepper rolled her eyes as her phone pinged. She pulled it out, her eyes scanning quickly over the screen. “Well, Tony’s Tony. I need to head out. The media is going insane. I have a lot of damage control. They want a statement from the military, as well,”

Rhodey groaned. “Now? Why can’t Tony—” Pepper raised her eyebrow. “Right, well let’s get this over with.”

“You two are leaving?” Loki blurted out, mentally slapping himself. He sounded like a clingy child, but he didn't want to be alone in a foreign (talking home), plush he already grew to like Pepper and Rhodey and didn't mind their company

Pepper and Rhodey smiled. “Aw, sweetie,” she said. “I’ll be back tonight to make sure Tony didn’t blow himself up. For now, just ask JARVIS if you need anything. I’ll make sure some food gets delivered for dinner later.”

Their smiles didn’t leave their faces and Loki was sure that he still looked desperate inspite of himself.

“Be warned, Tony’s machines can get pretty loud sometimes,” Rhodey said. “We’ll see you later,” The two took their leave, and Loki stood alone in the quiet house, having nothing to do but eat crackers and sigh.

———-

Tony tapped one index finger against his cheek and the other against the keyboard. The holographic screen reflected brightly against his face and he narrowed his eyes to read what was on it. Loki Laufeyson, raised in England (to account for the accent) born in… Oslo city of Norway, twenty nine years old. Former Occupation: accountant possessing a pilot’s license—which could maybe account for his mysterious appearance in Afghanistan when asked? Tony groaned, resting his forehead on the metal table in front of him. Hacking Norway’s government was disturbingly easy, as was the same with England’s. Making it believable? Not as much. He had to build a past for him; pay people off to say he’d worked for them, creating his family, his passport records—and tons of other things.

_‘Sir, I feel inclined to inform you that it is nine o’clock,”_

“If it’s not passed midnight, I don’t care.”

_‘You rejected the small appetizers I gave you hours ago. The pizza Ms. Potts ordered has arrived and even Mr. Laufeyson isn’t eating yet.’_

Tony sat up again. “Loki is here? I thought he was in his apartment.”

JARVIS sighed. _‘The apartment must first be prepared for Mr. Laufeyson.’_

“What? You mean it’s nine o’clock of the same day?” Dummy gave him a weird look—if that were possible. “Fine, I guess I’ll go up.”

He took the stairs back up, ignoring the elevator. The smell of pizza invaded his nose as he approached the living room. He rubbed his hands together, forgetting the work in his lab, his mouth watering as he pictured the pizza, sitting patiently on the coffee table waiting for him.

He was greeted with a very different sight.

He rounded the corner to find Loki, his hair still dripping from a shower, walking around the kitchen as classical music played gently in the background, one hand running thoughtlessly through his hair as the other pressed against the knot of the towel low around his waist.

Tony stopped rather abruptly, mouth falling open a little, his eyes tracing over Loki’s torso. His skin glowed like smooth porcelain under the LED lights. Had Loki always been that pale? Or was he just used to seeing him in shitty lighting? Loki hummed the music quietly. How did he know the tune? There was no way that he’d heard it on Asgard—wait, slow down boy. Loki’s not actually a god. Just a tall, gorgeous alien with magical powers, standing naked in his house.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Tony forced himself to cough when he saw the towel start to slip off. Loki looked at him, completely surprised. “Stark? What are you doing out of your lab?”

Tony smirked. “Are you the one really asking the questions?”

A gentle blush across Loki’s face. “I expected you’d stay in your lab for the remainder of the night,”

“So you decide to parade around—dripping wet—and naked?” He gave a little laugh. “Maybe I should do this more often.”

Loki frowned and waved his hand in dismissal, a gentle green glow seeping through his skin as a pair of silk green pajamas replaced the towels on his body.

“Got anything sexier?”

“Just eat the food. I’ll set the table.”

Tony grabbed the pizza box and jumped on the couch. “No need. Just grab a plate and some napkins.” He turned on the television, flipping through the channels. The news reports all said the same thing; ‘Tony Stark returns, Accompanied by Unnamed Fellow Prisoner and a Mental Breakdown’. One of the stations had blurred pictures of Loki talking to Pepper, and was focusing more on speculation of his identity. He went to the movie channels. “Any particular film you wanna watch?”

Loki sat down a foot or two away from him, handing him a plate and some napkins before taking a slice of pizza for himself. “No, you may choose.” He said, mostly because, well, he had no idea what a ‘film’ was. Tony glanced at him, realizing.

“…do you have movies in Asgard?”

“Our forms of entertainment are rather more…immediate and much less practiced. Your people would consider them barbaric, I think,”

“Like, Gladiators?”

“It was grotesque and rather boring, really. I much preferred adventuring with my brother and his—fools. During such public events of entertainment, I generally find myself studying spells or reading in the library,” 

“So we’re looking for a film with class.” 

“If class means civilized, then yes,”

“So, not an action movie. Okay.” Tony read began to read summaries of foreign dramas, sarcasm thick in his voice. Loki replied, “Perfect!” with equal facetiousness after he finished with each one. Tony was in the mood for an action movie, and Loki wanted something with a plot. In the end they chose Aftershock, a Chinese Drama about a devastating earthquake that destroys the lives of two siblings. 

The movie began with the family before the disaster, in a small village. They were obviously a very happy family, their parents deep in love with one another. Tony started on his second piece of pizza, and Loki continued to nibble on his first.

When the earthquake struck the couple was outside, sitting in their truck, the children both inside, fast asleep. The earthquake woke them immediately, however, and attempted to hide under their beds for protection. The father ran inside in hopes of saving them, but the building collapsed. The rescue team didn’t arrive until the next day. They found the father, deceased, first. As they searched through the rubble, the coughing of the children became more and more clear as they called for help. The rescuers forced on the woman a difficult decision. 

They could only save one of the children, and in doing so would immediately crush the other. The mother cried, at first refusing to choose, and yet, after much hassling from the rescuers, choose her son.

“My son, please save my son,” are the last words her daughter heard her say.

Tony wa fairly interested, to his own surprise. He glanced at Loki, starting at what he saw. Loki’s face was twisted in anger, his eyes watery and threatening to pool over with tears. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Was her son the elder?”

“Huh?”

“The boy, was he older than the girl- is that why she chose him?”

Tony paused the movie. “They’re fraternal twins.”

Loki sighed. “Why would a parent choose between her children? To allow one to live and the other to suffer—suffer with her final words of loving the other one more.” His hand   
curled into a fist. “That is just…”

“Hey, if it’s bothering you so much we can choose something else. There’s some great children’s movies that can be—”

“No, I apologize for my comments. It’s just a little unsettling and—”

“Personal?”

Loki wiped his eyes. “Yes.”

Tony shifted closer to him. “Would you like to talk about it?” and it felt strange, playing the comforter and now the one being comforted. He’d always struggled with his life issues, from his parent’s death to his drinking, and playboy attitude, constantly being hounded by Pepper and Rhodey to “deal with his problems”—with which, they were only fairly successful. He wasn’t sure if Loki would actually talk to him, but he figured it best to make an effort. Tony wasn’t a good listener—but he felt he should at least give it a try.

“No, may we just continue the film?”

So an emotionally private man, just like Tony. “Sure, but if you really feel uncomfortable just tell me.”

“I’ll remember that.”

He unpaused the movie. The mother was holding the body of her dead daughter, crying and sobbing as she laid the body next to her husband’s. The mother and her unconscious son are taken to a refugee center. The daugher awakens, completely alone, next to her dead father, walking around, confused and hurt. A soldier finds her and explains her parents likely died in the earthquake. The man and his wife eventually adopt her.

The movie focused on both of the children. The son lived with his father’s mother as his mother dealt with her grief, and the daughter lived in a loving family. (Tony explained that a possible reason why she saved her son was because the mother in law hates her son’s wife. The grandmother said “You couldn’t help my son, and let my grandson lose an arm,” and so by saving the boy, the mother in law might have more sympathy).

As the movie continued, Tony felt his mind weave in and out of sleep, eyelids drooping low and his head falling forward as he fought off the sleep. Loki was wide awake the entire time, his eyes glued to the screen. He didn’t remember falling asleep the last time, only the comfort of a shoulder to lean his head on as his mind drifted off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day that Loki and Tony finally part, but they know that they'll still see each other. Loki doesn't want to go, and Tony doesn't want him to leave. 
> 
> Special guess: Tesseract.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again this was edited by OhMyMandy. Sorry this took long again, now that I've started college it's harder to keep tract of stuff. Hope you enjoy this and hopefully more later :D 
> 
> And for future references the events (mostly after this chapter) will be following Iron Man 1 but still switching from Loki and Tony's point of view. 
> 
> Also no matter what verse I write, rather it's Judas!Verse or movie!verse, Bruce Wayne will be mentioned one way or another. I do believe he and Tony are good friends.

Before his kidnapping Tony had rarely dreamt. His mind was usually filled with equations and blueprints of new weapons. They weren’t dreams: they were plotless concepts and ideas his mind thought up. When he did dream, it was about his childhood—the days his parents put aside their work and actually acknowledged him. He dreamt of christmas often, of how his mother made Christmas cookies, of his father played on the carpet with him, talking about improvements and teaching him about science. Maria would laugh as Tony attempted to modify a toy train to run without took his tools to make the toy train run without batteries. Howard was proud. It was the only time he was ever proud.

He also had nightmares. They started after the waterboarding, and in them he was always drowning, and when the drowning didn’t wake him up, the dream continued with him being dragged to watch Yinsen and Loki’s bodies’ pierced by hot metal. He’d wake up in a cold sweat, Loki and Yinsen still asleep near him, unharmed, fast asleep. They never seemed to have nightmares.

There had been one dream in particular he remembered: it had started off as a nightmare, only to end peacefully. It’d started off with him being forced to murder Loki and Yinsen, only to have Pepper, Rhodey, and Obidiah dragged in and beheaded. The United States then suffered a fatal attack with Stark Industries weapons. Everybody died because of his company, and he’d been powerless to stop it.

But then, suddenly, it had changed. America was suddenly peaceful again, the wreckage gone and the people restored. Children went to school, parents to work, and everybody was happy. They smiled at Tony, greeting him on the street as he walked by, confused. He had gone home then, to find Pepper and Rhodey inside making lunch. Pepper cracked a joke and asked him what kind of sandwich he wanted, and Rhodey made him one of his favorite cocktails. He’d gotten a phone call from Obadiah only to discover their stocks were at a record high. His arch reactor had been gone, and in it’s place was smooth, unharmed skin. He woke up with a smile on his face, only to discover Loki, lying on his side next to him, tears drying on his face. Yinsen asked Tony to leave him be, and explained that he’d had an emotional breakdown. It was Loki, Yinsen told him, who had calmed the yelling from his nightmare.

His nightmares stopped after that for the most part, demon remnants occasionally crawling back into his skull to torment him.

Last night, during the movie, when he’d fallen asleep (and he’d deny that he’d slept on Loki’s shoulder) he had dreamt of being a teenager again. It was a rarity, for him not only because of that, but because it was actually a dream. He’d built an entire car, engine and all, that ran on clean energy. He won a major award for it, and his parents had applauded, cheered, beamed at him from the audience. For him.

He’d smiled at them, waving back proudly, when he noticed a red stain spreading across his father’s chest. Howard looked down at it in shock, clutching his chest, only to be shot in the forehead a moment later—followed immediately by his mother. He turned to the audience, screaming for help, only to realize they were all made of cardboard.

He’d opened his mouth to cry out, only to have a black bag pulled violently over his face, blinding him as men knocked him over and began to drag him away. They left him in a cold, empty room—no, it was the cave, the cave—before unmasking him. There were two bodies on the ground—one resembling Yinsen, and the other Loki. He yelled desperately at the metal doors, to no avail.

He woke up hyperventilating and covered in sweat, sitting up in his urgency. The room was dark, but he could tell he wasn’t on the couch anymore, and for a moment was disoriented. “Jarvis, lights,” he said through his heavy breathing. The curtains slowly pulled apart, and he realized he was lying in his own bedroom, alone. He fell back onto the pillows.“JARVIS, why am I in my room?”

_‘Mr. Laufeyson carried you here after you fell asleep during the movie.’_

“Where is he now?”

_‘He left a note half an hour ago to walk by the beach. He’ll be picking up some coffee and breakfast too on the way home.’_

“Oh…” Why did he sound so disappointed? Loki was getting him coffee and seeing what a beach on earth looked like for the first time.

_‘Sir, I would like to inform you that I have finished the last of Mr. Laufeyson’s identity information. I have sent the records to the real estate agent and she has confirmed that he may move in at his earliest convenience.’_

Tony blinked at his AI. “You did all of that in one night? JARVIS, I knew I loved you for a reason. Marry me?”

_‘Not likely sir. I believe I’m still engaged to Mr. Wayne’s ‘Batcomputer’ by your arrangement.’_

The billionaire laughed. “Oh I know. I’ll make it a June wedding.” He pictured the AI rolling his eyes.

He pulled himself of out bed to wash up before entering the hallway and walking to Loki’s room. The door wasn’t closed, and he looked in to see what if Loki had changed anything to make it more comfortable. He hadn’t. The bed was made, the surfaces dusted, and the curtains drawn. Had he even slept in his room?

He heard the main door open and closed Loki’s again, going to greet whomever had come home. It was Loki, frappuccino in one hand and coffee in the other. Sweat ran down his forehead and he was dressed in shorts and a white t-shirt, which confused Tony. It was cool outside. He had a white bag tucked under his arm. “I got you some coffee and a sandwich.” He handed it to Tony while he drank his own.

“So did you see the beach?”

Loki walked to the bar stool to sit down. “Not exactly. I found a small coffee shop on my way walking down but then I was leaving these people with the flashing cameras surrounded me and I couldn’t use magic without raising suspicion. They chased me until I reached your drive way—I guess they’re not allowed to enter the premises?”

Tony laughed. “Basically- Pepper had a restraining order that they can’t go beyond that.”

“Why were they chasing me? I haven’t said anything since we arrived.”

The billionaire shook his head. “They probably realized who you were. JARVIS, television?”

The AI turned on his flat screen and changed it to one of the national news channels. JARVIS lowered the volume since the anchorman was, for reasons no one will ever know, screaming the news at the camera. “Since Tony Stark has arrived back in the states, after his kidnapping, a mysterious man has been spotted with him on several occasions: he was seen in the crowd when Stark made the shocking announcement about Stark Industries and then spotted again going down to a LOCAL COFFEE SHOP ordering a coffee, a frappuccino and a breakfast sandwich!” The camera switches to the scene just 15 minutes earlier (most likely the cameras were a direct live feed to the studio) of Loki, his expression both distressed and clearly annoyed as the paparazzi followed him.

“Sir what is your relationship to Anthony Stark?!”

“What is your name?!”

“How did you get such a nice ass?!”

The camera zoomed in on Loki’s face. He tried to cover himself with his hands and turn away but the cameras merely approached closer until a worker from the coffee shop shooed them away. They followed Loki out of the coffee shop and continued to ask him questions until he reached the long drive way of Stark’s home when they finally backed off.

“Well it looks like this mysterious man is also living with Stark! Is he a lover? A close friend? Has a romance blossomed from tragedy?” Tony rolled his eyes and muted the television.

“That’s the media for you, always over exaggerating everything. Whatever you, do avoid those channels.” He walked behind Loki and took a bite out of the sandwich while staring at his backside. “How did you get such a nice ass?”

Loki spun around to face him, his cheeks pink and his face indignant, surprising Tony. “Enjoy your breakfast, this will be the last time I extend such a courtesy.”

Tony just laughed. “Hey it’s a good question—we were trapped for three months. I know mine lost a lot of muscle, I’ll probably do a bit of heavy lifting in the garage to get it back. Also how did you buy breakfast? Did JARVIS give you money?”

“He left some of the ‘bills’ on my nightstand and told me to use those as currency until the credit card was ready.”

“JARVIS already explained what a credit card is?”

“Yes, he did.”

“JARVIS you are a good person!”

_Thank you sir. Mr. Laufeyson your apartment is ready now._

“Excellent, I believe I shall go now.”

Tony cursed mentally and felt the urge to stop Loki from going. He didn’t. He’d told Loki he’d let him live on his own. But after spending so much time with the man being away from him sounded scary. He was the only other person who understood what he was going through, and sending him out in the world seemed dangerous. It was a big house, with more than enough room for the both of them [and eight others, really] but he couldn’t force Loki to stay with him. “Can I at least drive you there? Pepper and Rhodes said your new place was a dump.”

Loki’s clothing glowed slightly and changed. “It’s not a ‘dump’, it’s dusty. I’ll ride with you, I suppose.”

“Need any furniture? I can have some delivered today.”

Loki smirked and waved his hand. Tony’s clothing changed from his pajamas to khakis and a dress shirt. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“Oh right, magic. Well, follow me.” They went down the spiral staircase to the garage/workshop. A glass room looked to be where Tony had his tools and computer while the huge opening was where the 11 cars were. Tony took one of the car keys and a silver sports car, without a top, lit up. “Get in.”

Tony jumped into the driver’s seat while Loki opened the passenger door. “Do you drive well?”

The bearded man flashed a smile as he entered Loki’s address into the GPS system. “You could say that.” Loki clicked in his seat belt and Tony stepped on the gas and peeled out of the garage. He drove sixty miles per hour by the narrow cliff side and Loki gripped the seat and tried not to scream his head off. Tony laughed most of the time as he glanced at Loki’s frightened face. The ride only lasted a few minutes, however, because, as it turned out, the apartment complex was fairly close. He pulled into the parking lot.

Loki’s hair was messy because of the wind. Tony ran his hand through his own to fix it and Loki scowled at him. “What? We’re here, safe and sound.”

“I don’t care for the ‘media’ and yet I would rather walk than drive with you again.” He spat as he left and slammed the car door. Tony just kept smiling and climbed out after him.

“I’m not always a reckless driver, but when I am I make sure that you’re the passenger.” 

Loki rolled his eyes and stomped his way up the broken staircase to the apartment building. The front door is was open to everyone, possessing no doorman or security. Pepper and Rhodey had been right; the place was a dump, and Tony had no doubt that should an earthquake occur, even a small one, the place would collapse. The elevator wasn’t working so had to take the staircase to Loki’s floor. Tony stole glimpses of the other residences, most of whom were elderly folk, sitting in their chairs with the windows open. A young woman and her child lived on her floor. They seemed to be in a rush when they left, the child carrying a backpack on his shoulders. None of them paid them any attention.

There was a doormat in front of Loki’s door with a note on it, and in it she said she’d arrived early with the key to clean the place up. “Huh, usually it takes a while before someone can move in, but by the condition of this place she must have wanted someone to move in to make a sale.” Tony said.

Loki used the key to open the door to his new home. There was a wine bottle—for celebration—on the counter, and the place looked significantly cleaner. Loki immediately walked to the bookshelf to examine the novels and Tony examined bottle. “Yup, cheap place, cheap wine. Wanna open it?”

“I suppose.” Loki conjured two wine glasses on the table. Tony popped open the cork and poured the red wine into the glasses. He passed one to the God, who had picked up an encyclopedia, only to put it down again so he could accept the glass.

“To your new home.” Tony said raising his glass.

“To my new home.” Loki repeated and tapped his glass with Tony’s. Tony’s phone rang, interrupting them. It was Pepper. He regretted answering it immediately—she screamed violently at him of Stark Industries crashing.

“Ah fuck, well I have to leave. You sure that you’re okay in this place?”

“Of course, I have everything I need.”

Tony shrugged and started to walk out. “Okay, but you can just call me- you do have a cell phone right?”

“I—um…” The billionaire laughed.

“I’ll have Pepper send you one later. Just take care of yourself, alright? You know where I live, so.”

Loki waved him away in such a manner that said ‘just go before Pepper kills you’. Tony leaned against the closed door behind him, a sigh escaping his mouth. So Loki had found a place to live, so what? It wasn’t his business what the guy wanted to do with his life, he tried to remind himself. But he still felt uneasy leaving him there.

Tony shook off the thought and proceeded to leave the building.

—-

Loki waited until the sound of Tony’s footsteps had faded away to slide against the wall and rest his head on the bookshelf. He was finally able to get away from Tony and live his life. It wasn’t that Loki hated him (in fact, it was the complete opposite). Tony was an intelligent and snarky man, one who could challenge Loki, and could take his own behavior and toss it back to him. If anything, he would have preferred to stay in his house, however, Tony had his own life to deal with and Loki still had plans to return home.

Heimdall hadn’t sent any sign that he knew that Loki is alive. He stood up and walked to the balcony, glaring up at the sky. The cursed god was keeping him here on purpose, wasn’t he? Loki muttered curses under his breath and created curtains to shut the lights out. He remembered distinctly crying into Yinsen’s arms when he realized that he could never go home; never see his mother or anyone else that cared for him (Did Thor really care?).

Yinsen is in the afterlife with his family. Tony has his computer, Pepper, Rhodey and Obadiah.

Loki was still alone.

He closed his eyes and buried his head on his arms. A headache was sneaking into his brain. He went to sleep.

The God woke to a knock on his door. It took him a few seconds to wake himself from his stupor, stand up from the floor and compose himself. He looked around the the room and realized that it was still empty, and so with a quick spell he furnished the room. The knocks continued insistently. “Just a minute, please.” He used a spell to slide the curtains open and allow the light in. He wasn’t sure what time it was.

“Mr. Laufeyson? This is Agent Coulson. I need to speak with you.”

Loki froze. It just had to be the man who was in contact with his brother. He took a deep breath while and strode to the door and repeated quietly to himself “we don’t look alike, we don’t look alike, there’s no way he’d know…” and opened the door hesitantly.

The Agent stood at the threshold in his black suit, a file in his arms. “May I come in?” Loki stepped out of the way and Coulson made his way.

 

“Would you like to sit?” He asked as he walked into the kitchen to brew a cup of tea.

“No thank you. I am here to debrief on your escape with Anthony Stark.”

Loki turned on the burner and placed a metal pan filled with water on top. “Of course, but hasn’t that been handled by Tony or his assistant?”

“We have an appointment.” He made a face. “I came to ask from your perspective.”

The pot was taking too long to boil. “Do you really need my side? I’m sure with the media there were speculations to how we escaped.”

“There are and we have confiscated all that were taken in that region. There are pictures of a metal armor and you using Stark guns.” It wasn’t an accusation. It was a fact.

Loki shrugged, explaining briefly what’d happened, from being captured, tortured, and building the suit.

“How?”

“How what?”

Coulson raised an eyebrow. “How did you just ‘leave’? Burn everything and walk away until the military found you?”

Loki crossed his arms. “I do not see why this is so important. What’s done is done, we’re here and alive. Tony was the engineer, I only put the pieces together with little knowledge of how it works. Ask him if you want to know more.”

Coulson sighed, recognizing that he’d gotten all of the information he was going to get. “Very well then, but do not expect this to be my last visit.” He replied as he left.

“Of course, Agent.”

Coulson was almost out of the door when suddenly, he stopped, glancing back at the taller male. “Loki…isn’t that the name of the Norse God of Mischief?”

Loki held his breath. “Yes. I know it’s unusual around this part of the world. Why?”

“That’s classified.”

“You ask my name, then tell me you can’t say why because it’s classified?”

“Still classified. Thank you for that small amount of information.” His monotone voice didn’t hide his sarcasm. Loki raised a confused eyebrow before closing the door behind him. If the agent wasn’t going to tell him the ‘classified information’ then he was going withhold his own.

Looking outside again he guessed it was a little past noon. He returned to the bookshelf, reading through he encyclopedias just to know more about earth. Another hour passed and Loki finished three of the books and moved onto ‘United States History’ book on the shelf when he read the chapter about World War 2. To them, the war was over 70 years ago, but in his time it was much shorter.

He remembered sitting by the bifrost with his brother and asking Heimdall what was happening on Midgard with the war when he announced that a man had taken the Tesseract, an energy cube that was originally owned by the Gods and sent down to earth for protection. Why Odin thought that was a good idea he’d will never know, but the minute it was taken Thor announced that they should go down and reclaim it before harm was done. Loki agreed to a battle plan, only to have Odin orde them to allow the humans to play it out.

They did, and the Tesseract disappeared (although still on Midgard) and the war ended. The brothers went back to their usual business and to this day they still didn’t know where it was.

“No one is particularly sure what the glowing cube really did, but some skeptics claim that Howard Stark, young genius and a pilot, worked for the government to retrieve it. The cube still has not been seen.

“Stark?” Loki muttered to himself. Howard was Tony’s father, and yet Tony never mentioned any of his father’s work besides the company—especially not anything about the tesseract. Loki tapped his fingers against the encyclopedia, wishing he had a way of contacting him. But he didn’t, and for now, he was just going to have to wait.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki continues his research on Midgard and gets a surprise visitor while Tony begins on the MARK II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd [MyOhMandy ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MyOhMandy/pseuds/MyOhMandy). She's been a great help and her edits are amazing. If you can please check her out as well because her story 'Proposal' is phenomenal. 
> 
> From here on many of the events of Tony and Loki will be revolving around Iron Man 1. You don't have to watch the movie again but that is just for a reference, therefore I will be using other side characters from that movie and incorporate them here. Also I know it's been very slow so far but please bear with us. My intention is to create more character development between the two even if separated with an insight of what Loki is doing, or trying to do, to go back to Asgard. Thank you for reading.

He spent the rest of the afternoon reading: aside from encyclopedias he found a copious amount of fiction novels he decided he’d read after he finished with the encyclopedias. In the morning he made himself a small breakfast, and several neighbors came to introduce themselves. The majority of them were elderly couples, having retired for a relaxing life by the beach. They brought food, mostly casseroles and pies, all of which went straight into his fridge. The all seemed fairly easy going, although one man seemed more than eager to talk politics—to which Loki responded by nodding his head with faux interest and making a mental note to read more on economics later.

He then found himself wondering, once again, where in Midgard Thor had landed during his exile. He remembered what he’d seen from the destroyer well, and the area Thor had been in looked like no part of California he had yet to see. He knew for a fact that there was a mark on the earth from where Heimdall had opened the bifrost, and it would be easier to make an attempt at getting home from there. But then again, he remembered, Heimdall’s marking was located inconveniently close to where that woman—Thor’s maiden—lived, and if Loki knew Heimdall, he she was being watched and protected. Heimdall would twice as likely to see him coming and block his passage. He needed to think of a different place to attempt and access the bifrost—a place Heimdall wasn’t watching already. He thought of the countries where the ideas of Mythology had originated—the ones that had originally been built on the strong ideals of polytheism. Those countries with the most well known mythological beliefs all existed on the northern hemisphere. He needed a map.

Loki found himself wishing he’d learned more about the other realms. He’d studied magic and sorcery, strategy and political tact. He’d spent small bursts of time studying the other realms, especially when in relation to Asgard’s own history. Jǫtunheimr had come up a lot. His memories of what he’d learned about Midgard, however, were few and foggy. But he remembered the mythology based on Asgard very vaguely…’Norse Mythology’, he believed. What country was that?

The maps in the encyclopedias were not as helpful as he might’ve liked. He decided after several minutes he’d find a library instead, where hopefully they’d have something he’d find useful.

He changed his appearance before leaving to avoid further attacks from the paparazzi, his hair shifting to a light, yellow-gold, a thin green scarf wrapping around his shoulders and a pair of sunglasses shielding his eyes. They wouldn’t recognize him like this, he hoped. It wasn’t the best disguise, but a clever enough camouflage that he didn’t think they’d catch on.

The town was only a few minutes away, and the buildings were spread around the coast, many of which selling souvenirs or fast food. The weather was nice and a lot of people were out and about. He ignored all of them until he found a library.

He entered the building but immediately found himself disappointed; it was small, with less books than he’d hoped to find. This made it easier to navigate, however, and it took little to no time for him to find what he was looking for; an atlas. He traced his fingers over the maps as his lessons came back to him, the countries re-familiarizing themselves in his brain. But there were six different countries that the passage could’ve been in, and he didn’t have the time or the patience to go to all of them.

He thought back to the tesseract, which the humans had rediscovered in a small village during their second world war.

“Excuse me,” He approached the librarian. “Where can I find historical texts on the second world war?”

She was a young, disinvolved looking teenager, leaning back against the wall behind her desk as she loudly chewed her gum and read a book.

“If it’s not in the library you’ll have to look online. Computers are free to use, as long as you don’t look at porn or download anything illegally.”

He nodded slowly, completely unaware of what she was saying.

“And how does one use a computer?”

She looked up from her book, an eyebrow raised almost into her bangs as she sighed. “I’ll show you.” She muttered. “I better get more CS hours for this…”

She sat Loki down at a computer and explained the workings of the device to him, explaining how to do a search for what he was looking for and reminding him again what he wasn’t allowed to look at. He thanked her dismissively and started searching.

The majority of what he found focused on American fighting strategies or on an event called the Holocaust. The websites he saw relating to the Tesseract were all conspiracy-centric—that is, except for one. He was about to give up when he stumbled upon it, having become fed up with fake pictures and endless falsehoods. It was a picture of the temple where the Tesseract had been protected. It was in Norway, he read, and the entire structure (along with the town it was located in) had been destroyed by Hydra during the war. The town had been rebuilt, and now the place housed a mere one hundred people. The temple had not been rebuilt. The web page also mentioned that in his expedition to find Captain America Howard Stark had unearthed the Tesseract. He hadn’t known what it was, and there was no information on where it was now.

He kept searching with this information and learned more not about the tesseract, but about Tony. He read about Tony’s life as a child prodigy, the death of his parents, and his acceptance of his father’s company at the age of twenty one. The articles praised his first few years of genius and intellect, only to become roller coasters that complimented his technology and judged his “playboy attitude”. Loki wasn’t surprised to learn about Tony’s reputation. He was attractive, rich, intelligent, charismatic, it was no surprise that women would throw themselves at him. He was made rather uncomfortable, however, realizing how many of them Tony had taken back to his bedroom (or, according to one article, his storage closet). He was not unfamiliar to the idea of sleeping with more than one person—both Thor and himself had bedded multiple women in their lifetimes—and yet, all had meant something to them that wasn’t based off of sex.

Perhaps Tony was just a philanderer like Fandral (although Loki doubted even he could measure up to Tony’s seemingly endless one night stands)…and while he was annoying, Fandral wasn’t a bad guy.

But there was something still worming around in his gut, chewing at his nerves.

\---

Tony had been working on new projects—two, to be exact. A better functioning arc reactor and the Mark II. He convinced Pepper to help him attach the new arc reactor to his chest, and then went to visit Rhodey at the military base. He teased him in front of the recruits lightheartedly and then pulled him aside to talk to him about the Mark II. Rhodey was relieved to hear he was working on something new, admitting that the military was still holding it’s breath since his last press conference. Tony’s smile faltered.

“It’s not for the military.” He explained. 

Rhodey stopped smiling, his face transforming from his friend to a soldier. 

“Look, Tony…I know you’ve been through a lot lately…but making rash decisions like this is dangerous.” He put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Please, you need to get your mind right. Go rest, meet some girls—just don’t do this.” 

Tony was taken back by his response for only a moment. Reality realigned in his head with a resounding click. Rhodey was only going to support him if it meant helping out the military. Pepper would only support him if she thought it was business-wise. And Obadiah would only back him if it meant more money for Stark Industries. He was on his own—except for—maybe—Loki. 

Loki had helped him build Mark I, after all; Loki knew the basics of the suit and had witnessed it in action first-hand. He could help Tony work on it and he wouldn’t be pressured because Loki had nothing to gain or loose as a result of the project, and, as infuriating as he could be sometimes, and he’d be in good company.

Then why was he so persistent to moving out? 

Loki had seemed overly eager—in his own, discreet way—to get into his apartment. Was that because Loki was ready to be done with him now that he’d escaped? It was true, they’d gotten into a few rows of it here and there, but they worked together better than they fought against each other. But maybe all Tony was to him was an train ride out of captivity and a meal ticket in the real world. The thoughts hit him like a bitch in his already sore gut, and he pushed the idea aside.

He went back to the lab, his mood still low as he began working on schematics. 

“Title this project Mark II and save it in the private sector,” He told Jarvis. 

_‘Ah, secret project, sir?’_

“You could say that,” he replied, first focusing on eliminating the clunkier parts of the suit. “It’s just you and me on this one,” He looked at it in holographic form.

_‘As opposed to?’_

He didn’t answer.

\---

Two days had passed since he’d visited Rhodey, and he was now working on the boots, with the help of Dummy. He argued silently with it on the details as ACDC blared through the lab, drowning out the sound of his phone—which was ringing non-stop.

He’d finished the boots by ten that night, sighing back to look at his work. He was covered in grease and sweat, and he knew it was time he took a break. He turned the music off, grabbed his phone, and went upstairs. He one hundred unread texts from Pepper alone, and his fridge was covered in sticky notes.

Standing in the shower, his mind wandered back to Loki’s short time in Stark Towers. He had the image of Loki, wet and covered only by a towel, still saved perfectly in his mind. (While it was true he had a reputation for his behavior with women, he was definitely not blind to the attractiveness of a well made man). Loki was a prime example: even, fair skin, wide, dangerous green eyes, gorgeous, shapely cheekbones, slick black hair,smooth looking skin-Well. Who wouldn’t be attracted to him? 

But then again, he reminded himself. He was in the shower, naked, picturing what another guy had looked like getting out of the shower, naked. He pushed the thoughts away and got out of the shower, putting on clean, grease-free clothes. He was halfway back to the lab when Jarvis politely put in a gentle word of protest.

_‘Sir, you have been spending an awful lot of time in there the past couple of days. I would advise you take some time away to eat and get in a few hours of sleep.”_

“Always the mother hen,” he teased. “Why not?” he changed direction, walking instead to the fridge, grabbing pre made sandwich and a beer to flop down on the couch with. He was about to turn on the tv when he took pause.

“Jarvis, enter ‘Loki’ into the search browser.”

_‘Yes, sir,’_

The tv screen flickered to an internet search of Loki. The first link was to a Wikipedia article on the Norse God Loki. He scrolled past it, looking at other websites that gave more detailed folklore. He read through the myths as he ate, learning more about the so-called “God” Loki was claiming to be.

\---

Loki woke up later than usual the next day, surrounded by news articles. He’d gone looking for magazines that mentioned Tony after he’d left the library, and had spent most of the night reading through them. He must’ve fallen asleep in the middle of one, slipping into a nightmare.

He reheated one of the meals his neighbors had brought to him to eat for breakfast, and then organized the magazines, hiding them under his bed in a neat stack. He’d read enough about Tony; he needed to get back to business. 

Both Tony and Loki worked almost non-stop for the next few days. Tony worked on the suit almost endlessly, still mostly working on the boots and their flight system. Loki, meanwhile, was teleporting around the the planet in hopes of finding a place where the passageway might be, but was still coming up empty handed.

On the third day of non-stop work, Loki was exhausted at having used so much of his magic. He sat out on the balcony of his apartment to rest and ate the sweets a neighbor had given him, staring at Tony’s mansion. The ocean beat against sand below, and it was lulling him into a light fog of sleep when someone rapped at the door. He stood up, walking to the door and looked though the peep hole. He didn’t recognize the woman on the other side, so he opened the door with light caution. She was tall, with blonde hair and green eyes, a smile showing her straight white teeth, and she wore a white blouse with a denim skirt, her glasses holding her hair back like a headband. 

“Hello!” She said. “You must be our new neighbor! Sorry I wasn’t able to introduce myself earlier—work and such. I’m Christine from 15H, right above you.”

He smirked a little to himself as he shook her hand—did she think he was stupid? He was on the top floor, so unless she was illegally living on the roof, she was lying. Her clothes, he noticed, were much nicer than anybody else’s in the apartment complex, looking not only new, but well pressed and wrinkle-free. He decided to play along.

“Well, how nice of you to stop by. Would you like to come in?” He asked, stepping back and letting her walk inside. “Would you like a drink?”

“Only if you have tea!” She replied, smiling. 

He nodded, walking to the cabinet to fetch out some of his tea. 

“So, what’s a lovely man like you doing in a place like this?” 

“I could ask you the same thing,” he smiled back. 

She blushed lightly. “It’s just…” she answered. “that I’ve seen pictures of you—on the news and stuff? Aren’t you friends with Tony Stark?” 

Ah, she was curious about Tony’s time in captivity. She was probably one of Coulson’s spies, here to try and get more information by attempting to seduce him. If only he knew.

“Yes, I am although, it’s been a few days since I’ve spoken to him. I should probably give him a call later tonight…” Well, he might—if he actually had a cell phone.

“Aw…So you two are close?”

Loki picked the kettle off of the stove and poured hot water into two mugs where he let them sit with the tea bags. “Depends on your definition of close. We know each other…I’m allowed in his home, he’s allowed in mine…and he helped me find this apartment,”

“Interesting…” she said, accepting a mug from Loki. “So, where is he now?”

“Home, I’d assume,”

She shifted in her seat and he noticed the rectangular device in her purse move, followed by a clicking sound. She laughed, trying to cover it, fumbling awkwardly with her bag—there was another click. “What’s your occupation?”

“No job yet,” he sipped his tea, wondering about the pointlessness of her questions.

“Oh. So, like I said earlier…I saw you on the news! All the news stations are saying that you met him while he was in captivity! Is that really true?”

There it is.

“I’m sure your boss has already told you that.” He replied, his voice lower. “Still trying to get my side of it?”

She feigned confusion, though Loki could see through to her nervousness. 

“My boss? I work at the coffee shop—”

“Oh, is that so?” Her lies were getting more transparent. “I simply must drop by sometime. What coffee shop is it? The one near the building? I went in there just the other day…didn’t see you.”

“I—I work in the afternoons.” Loki had to fight back a cackle. Her lies were thinner than newspaper.

“My mistake. What are your hours? I could get some coffee with Tony there sometime.” His smile showed that he knew everything. 

“Oh—uh—that’d be great. What kind of coffee does he—”

“Loki?” A voice called from behind the front door. He opened the door and found Pepper on the other side, looking stressed but well composed. She had a small box tucked under her arm. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had company—” She caught sight of Christine’s face and her voice dropped flat. “What are you doing here?” 

“Hello, Ms. Potts. I see you still haven’t had the time to change out of the power suit.”

“And I see that you’re still sleeping your way through your work.” She said, her smile small and smug.

Christine was taken aback by her forwardness. “We haven’t slept together.”

“I can tell by the sour look on your face.”

Loki was taken completely by surprise—though he’d be lying if he didn’t think it was amusing. He made a mental note that if he ever got the chance, he’d introduce her to Sif.

“Pepper, would you like some tea?” He asked Pepper, holding back a laugh once again. Christine shot him a glare. 

“No thank you, I just finished my own on the way here. Loki, is this woman bothering you?”

“Not exactly,…she just seems very nosy and—asking all these questions about my personal life and your boss. I’m also relitivly sure she has some sort of recording device in her purse. Ms. Christine perhaps works with a certain Agent Coulson?

“She’s a reporter,” Pepper replied. “the day before Tony’s kidnapping I found her wandering his Manhattan home only wearing Tony’s shirt and with no information on Tony’s quotes of the company. Her full name is Christine Everhart.”

Ah of course, that’s how Loki had recognized her. She was the author of one of the articles he’d bought on Tony—it had been printed the month before the kidnapping. “So you wrote that article on Tony? Quite interesting, if I may say so, although you wrote more about his personality than his contributions in the weapon industry for the government—and well, really, what kind of writer puts a picture of themselves with the article?”

If she hadn’t been red enough before, she was sure making up for it now. She grabbed her bag and pushed past Pepper. “Whatever, I have all I need to write about the mysterious Loki Laufeyson.” she spat.

Loki glared at her. “How do you know my full name? And how did you know my address?”

“I have my ways.” She slammed the door behind herself. 

Pepper rolled her eyes. “I should have warned you about her. Did you tell her anything?”

“Nothing of importance. I thought she was another agent.”

“That’s good. Although you might want to ignore the magazine industry for the next month if she’s using your conversation as an article, but I think you’ll be okay. Also, I have something for you.” She pushed the box in Loki’s hands.

He removed the paper wrapping and opened the box, revealing a rectangular and silver sleek handheld device. “Ta-da! It’s the new Stark phone! Or at least what it should be called.” Loki just tilted his head. “You needed a phone, and I thought about getting you a regular one at the mall but Tony insisted that he’ll give you one of his own. The only people that own these are myself, Rhodey and Tony.”

She pressed a small button on the top and the phone turned on, already completed with a background and apps. “This is—he gave me one of his own?”

“Yup, his exact words were ‘I don’t want him using a child’s toys!’ He always wants the best for his friends.”

He touched it and watched the screen move under his fingers. Loki looked at the contacts to see that Pepper and Tony’s number were already added. “This is wonderful.”

“Isn’t it? Well I wish I could stay and chat more, but I have to make some to calls the board of directors. Just dial if you need help.” She patted his shoulder and proceeded out.

“Wait, Pepper?” He asked; she turned around. “How is Tony doing?”

“Well I’d say he’s back to normal—meaning he trapped himself in his lab to work on another project. JARVIS tells me he rarely leaves.”

“At least he’s eating.” Loki replied. “Can you give my regards to him?”

She smiled at him. “Or you could visit him yourself, I’m sure he already misses your company.”

Pepper left, leaving Loki with the new advanced phone. Looking at the contacts again he pressed Tony’s name to reveal four numbers- his cell phone, the house (titled JARVIS), his office number and his personal cell phone. Another touch and he could be talking to the genius but instead he pulled back and locked the screen; Tony was working on a new project and it would probably be best not to disturb him. He put the phone aside and went back to read more from the magazines.

—-

After running a few more calculations Tony strapped himself into the boots and wires attached to his arc reactor and hands. He had a camera set up and Dummy by his side for fire safety. Standing in the middle of the garage Tony spread his feet apart and stood still. JARVIS focused the camera so that he could see Tony and the area of the lab. Tony made a fist with his hands and took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s start with a simple flight simulation at 10% thrusters, in 3-2-on—”

He hadn’t even finished his sentence before he was flying up by the feet, flipping upside down and slamming against the ceiling before falling back to the ground. He groaned, and Dummy diligently sprayed him with the fire extinguisher, seeming proud of itself.

_‘Sir, sir are you alright?’_

Tony groaned loudly tried to stand up—and found that breathing through the pain was enough of a task on its own. “Y-yeah just give- give me a- argh!”

_‘Sir I will call a hospital—’_

“Don’t you dare JARVIS, you know I hate hospitals. Call—call Lo—” He stopped himself before he finished the sentence. Did he really need to call Loki for this? The man’s “powers” really had helped before…he could heal him in just a few short seconds and now that Pepper had delivered his cell phone—he was just one phone call away.

_‘Sir, would you like me to all Mr. Laufeyson?’_

But then he’d have to explain the project to Loki, and he’d promised himself he wouldn’t Loki involved in it. “No! Just—just get me some goddamn ice or something. I’ll be fine.” After arguing with his master JARVIS asked Butterfingers to give him a bag of ice and eventually Tony was able to stand on his own. 

He was lucky enough to have not broken anything—although he looked like he’d gotten punched in the face—several times, for that matter. He decided that it would be a good idea to rest for the afternoon let some ice take down the swelling. But as he rested, alone in his king sized bed continued to work, determined to see the Mark II to the end as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just my little side note: at the beginning where it was mentioned that Loki has slept with others I am referring to both in the original Norse tales and possibly just other women. I would like to believe (and I'm still deciding whether or not she will be mentioned later) that Sigyn was his longest relationship but never his wife, but because their bond was strong it made the mortals believe that they were married, but that's just me.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The third annual Fire Fighter Benefit, hosted by Stark Industries, finally brings Tony and Loki back together. But as the night progresses into something more Tony finds he's slowly loosing control with what he built.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by [MyOhMandy ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MyOhMandy/pseuds/MyOhMandy) :)
> 
> Once again I apologize for taking so long, midterms decided it's cool to take over our lives ya' know? Anyway expect another long time to update. Usually when I give MyOhMandy the latest chapter I've already started on the next, but it's been over a week and I don't have anything. Sorry :(
> 
> And once again-again, this is following Iron Man 1, some lines and events are based off the movie but with Loki added.
> 
> Finally, the Walking Dead/American Horror is fucking amazing.

He spent four days straight in the lab, perfecting the boots and building the outermost parts of the armor, and on the end of the fourth day Pepper visited, holding a cup of coffee and a box wrapped in brown paper. She put both down on his work table, eyes scanning over his sweat covered, grease stained body, underneath which several bruises and cuts were hiding. The lab was also a mess, tools and papers scattered about the room. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Obadiah is upstairs,” she said as Tony screwed in the last bolt in the right armor of the suit, spreading his fingers and watching the repulsors light up. “What’re you working on?”

“Protection,” he replied, not looking at her.

“I thought Stark Industries was done with weapons.” She said, watching his work his hand around in the armor.

He flexed his fingers again. “It’s not a weapon, it’s—” the repulsor let out a loud hum and a bright blue ray shot out of the palm of the armor. Pepper shouted, turning away as if to shield herself, though the ray wasn’t pointed at her, as it sent Tony flying back onto his ass. “I didn't expect that.”

Pepper stared at him, looking hugely affronted before leaving the lab yelling things like “going to kill himself!” and “done with weapons, he says, done with weapons!”

He didn’t bother to take a shower, instead quickly washing his face and changing his clothes, using a small amount of cologne so he wouldn’t get an earful about his hygiene before going to meet with Obadiah. “How’d it go?” he asked as he entered the room, the sound of his lifelong friend playing the piano lifting to his ears and the smell of fresh pizza to his nose. Obadiah gave him a dirty look, only pausing briefly in his playing to do so. The smell rose from a box of his favorite pizza on the coffee table. “Oh, that bad, huh?”

“Just because I brought pizza doesn’t mean it went badly.”

“Uh-huh,” he said disbelieving as he sat down next to Pepper and grabbed a slice of pizza.

Obadiah stood up. “It would’ve gone better if you had been there.”

“Um, nope!” He said, taking a bite of his pizza. “You told to lay low, and that’s what I did. I lay low while you work on the—”

“Tony, I meant lay low to the public, but this was a board of directors meeting!” He scolded, sitting next to him. “The board is filing post traumatic stress based off of your actions!” he said, but Tony only rolled his eyes.

“What, because the stocks docked forty points? We knew that was going to—” 

“Fifty-six-point-five,” Pepper corrected.

“It doesn’t matter, we have the controlling interest of the company.” 

Obadiah was no longer trying to go easy on him. “Tony, the board has rights too, and they believe that your choices aren’t putting the company on the right road.”

“I’m being responsible!” Tony defended. “And that’s a new direction for me — I mean, the company. I — I mean me on the company’s behalf — it’s responsible…” Tony stuck a foot in his mouth, standing up and grabbing the pizza with every intention of locking himself back in his lab. 

“Oh, come on, Tony!” Obadiah called. “Tony! Tony!” 

“I’ll be in the shop!” He ignored him. Obadiah hurried to block his way out. 

“Tony, please,” He pleaded. “I’m trying to help you, but you gotta give me something to work with! Something to pitch them.” He pointed to the arc reactor. “Let me allow them to analyze that—”

“No.”

“No?”

“Nope. This one stays with me.” He tapped at his chest. There was no way in hell he’d let anyone see something so important get torn apart by the board. “Just forget it, Obi,” and Obadiah snatched the pizza box away.

“Can I at least see what you’re doing down there?”

“G’night, Obi!”

—-

Loki was situated in the middle of his living room, legs crossed, lights dimmed or off, and scented candles lit around him. He took a deep breath, feeling the magic in his blood become alive as he called to it, erasing the world around him. He summoned an image of the earth, the oceans illuminated in blue, the continents in white, with himself at the center. He waved his right hand over the parts of North America he knew belonged to the United State, and several red sparks lit up around it, none of which were relatively close to Malibu. The largest spark taunted him in New Mexico, where the memories of Thor’s battle with the destroyer played back through his mind. He cursed it, looking at the Æsier symbol engraved in the hard ground, the only mark left from the bifrost. He scowled and sat back. He wasn’t surprised, of course, that the strongest resided in the last place a portal had been opened, and yet, having it confirmed before him felt like a big loss, for as far as he knew New Mexico was still the home of the one and only Jane Foster. The last thing he needed was Thor, attacking him almost immediately after discovering he was still alive, because he thought Loki was a threat to her. No, New Mexico was not an option.

He’d try Europe next; it couldn’t be so bad. He could go ‘sight seeing’ and experiment with more earthly foods—though he’d have to take a plane, to conserve his energy. But then he’d have to know how to get a ticket for a plane, wouldn’t he?

A knock on the door woke him from his trance. He blinked the last of the magic away, blowing out the candles and setting them on his counter before answering the door for an older, bald man with a white beard and a giant smile.

“It’s great to see you, Loki,” the man said, though Loki didn’t have the faintest clue of whom he was. He pulled Loki into a one-armed embrace, and loki nearly shoved him off.

“Beg pardon, do I know you?” He asked as the man pushed in, looking completely at home. As he sat down on the couch, eyes scrutinizing the apartment.

“You don’t remember me? Actually, I don’t know what we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Obadiah Stane, Tony’s business partner.” Loki nodded, remembering him from the de facto welcoming party before Tony’s press conference.

“Oh, yes,” He nodded, his face blank and unwelcoming. “I do remember. To what do I owe this — uh — well, unexpected visit?” He felt no need to put a pretense of liking this man. He was rude and overly comfortable around Loki, even though he didn’t know him. Loki didn’t like him, or his presumptuous attitude. 

“Just visiting my best friend’s prison buddy. I mean, you guys spent a long time in there together. You even helped build the suit, right?” 

A gear shifted in Loki’s head, and he realized that Obadiah was no different than Christine Everheart, with her long, sniffing nose, like a dog, in other people’s business. 

“Yes, I assisted him,” he replied cooly. “though I honestly hadn’t the slightest clue as to what I was doing. I never saw the blueprints, I simply followed instructions. Put this piece there, that one screws there, nothing technical, nothing important. 

“Is that so? You didn’t know anything about it; the very suit that gave you your freedom?”

Loki glared at the man, deciding how to reply. Loki saw through Obadiah’s friendly nature, his ambition peaking in his eyes; he wasn’t like Christine Everheart, he was worse than her. She’d only wanted intel for her newspaper article, and this man wanted it for something slimy; he wanted it, Loki figured, so that he could take control of Stark Industries. 

He’d had a taste of the power while Tony was MIA, and now he wanted it back. 

“No, I’m afraid not. All I could tell you is the obvious; it was made out of metal.” He replied, standing in front of where his unwelcome house guest was seated. 

“What kind of metal?”

“I couldn’t say. I’m not a scientist,” Obadiah seemed to realize Loki wasn’t going to be any help to him. 

“Is that so.”

In his head, Loki laughed to himself. Agent Coulson, the reporter: Everhart, and Obadiah Stane, all knocking at his door, thinking pathetically that he’d talk about the cave. But Loki knew when to keep his mouth shut—better than most—and Loki had better things to worry about. “Yes, it is.” 

“Well then, it appears my visit will be very short.”

“It does seem so.” Loki replied, his face calm with disinterest as he continued to laugh to himself; there was nothing better than the look they all gave him when they left, failures to their cause. He gestured to the door pointedly, and Obadiah stood up. “I apologize for my rudeness, Mr. Stane, but I am very busy tonight, so if that’s all you need…” 

“Of course, of course,” Obadiah answered, his fake smile sliding from his face like grease. “Take care of yourself,” his hand found Loki’s shoulder.

Loki could’ve sworn the temperature dropped ten degrees. A shiver ran down his spine, but he didn’t let it phase him. Obadiah left, and Loki pondered the sick feeling in his stomach and reminded himself that he was only human. But his intuition was reaffirming something his intelligence had suggested; he was not to trust Obadiah Stane.

He went to bed shortly after, blanket over his head, and eyes shut tight.

He wanted to go home.  
—-

“Day eleven of test number thirty-two, configuration 2.0, with Dummy on fire saftey for lack of better options,” Tony said, only be slightly alarmed at Dummy’s sudden raise of head in his direction. “If you douse me, and I’m not on fire, I am donating you to a city college.” Dummy’s head slumped back down again.

He had two cameras on him via other devices, which would follow his movement. He ha braced his legs and spread out his hands. “In 3,2, 1…” the thrusters started in both his hands, and he his feet rose from the ground. He laughed in delight, hovering over through the lab, Dummy following him diligently until he slowly let himself land back on the ground. He turned to Dummy.

"Don’t follow me around. It makes me feel like I’m going to burst into flames. Just stand by, and if anything happens, help me.” He turned away again. “Okay, let’s move it up to 2.5, in three, two…one.” He rose again, two feet off the ground, moving around unintentionally, but using his arms to steer as he ascended further. “Oh—uh—okay—this is not where I want to be. Yikes.” He said in horror as he began to move over several of his cars, the hot flames damaging them—after which he ran abruptly in a wall. Cursing, he found his way back to his starting point, where he landed without falling. “Yeah, I can fly.”

He spent the remainder of the day working on the outer parts of the armor, along with the main thrusters. He finished the suit that night, smelling of sweat and grease—but fuck it, he had finished the suit. He strapped himself in and had Jarvis help attach the outer skin. Jarvis began to run diagnostics, but Tony was too excited to wait. “But sir,” Jarvis began to protest. 

“JARVIS, sometimes ya gotta run before you can walk! Flight test in three…two…one!”  
—-

It was not long before sun set, and Loki was just returning from a trip to the market for food. He could go long periods of time without eating, usually, but he’d felt himself becoming more weak ever since his he’d landed on Earth, and, since this affected his magic use, he ate regularly.

Going to the market had nearly been a disaster: it was his first time buying food for himself, and when he had made to call Pepper, he discovered his phone was connected to JARVIS. “Jarvis, are you a separate computer, or are you the same device hooked up with Stark?” 

_‘I am the same AI, working simultaneously with you and Mr. Stark. Is there anything I could help you with?'_

Loki set his grocery bags on the countertop and started to sort them. “How is Tony?” he asked, trying to figure out which things needed to be refrigerated, and which didn’t.

_‘He has been sleepy in increasingly insignificant amount the past few weeks, amounting to a total of ten hours, thirty-six minutes in the last seven days, has eaten typically small amounts, and is functioning properly. He has yet to drink any alcohol this week, as well.’_

Ah, of course. The drinking problem. Loki had come across it more than once in the news articles, the tabloids, magazines; it was no secret that Tony liked booze. Loki didn’t really understand why it was such a big deal, coming from Asgard and having the metabolism of a god, even as a Frost Giant. The alcohol tolerance level must be much lower on earth?

_‘Do you require any other assistance?’_

“What about his assistant? Or his friend?”

_‘Colonel Rhodes is still on active duty. Ms. Potts is currently preparing Stark Industry’s third benefit for the Firefighters Fund.’_

“…does Tony know about the benefit?”

_‘At this point in time, no.’_

Loki laughed under his breath. Tony Stark, too busy to engage in his own fundraisers.

 _‘It was also Ms. Pott’s birthday yesterday,’_ JARVIS added, and Loki made a mental note to get her something. _‘You are receiving a phone call from Ms. Potts.’ Loki answered the phone._

“Oh, Loki, glad you picked up,” Pepper said, speaking loudly over background noise from wherever she was. “Stark Industries is holding a benefit for Firefighters at the Disney Concert Hall tonight. I was wondering if you’d interested in attending.” Loki put her on speakerphone so that he could continue to put his food away.

“Attend a benefit? Wouldn’t the media be there? I’m was under the impression that I was laying low.”

“You are—but it would be fun. And well, the press isn’t going anywhere, and the longer we wait to face them the more theories the press is going to come up with. I also think your being there will help raise money.” She sounded fairly optimistic, and Loki could tell she was being completely honest with him.

“Are you asking me to use my charms to win over your patrons so that you can raise more money?” He asked, laughing lightly.

“Exactly so,” She replied, joining him in laughter. Aside from trying to get back to Asgard, Loki had no plans. He also found himself found of Pepper; she was smart, honest, and blunt, as was Colonel Rhodes, Tony’s other friend. It wasn’t hard to see why Tony kept them around.

“I believe I can manage the favor,” he replied.

“Excellent! I’ll have Happy pick you up in, say, two hours? He’s still on an errand run—crap! Do you have a suit to wear?”

“Yes,” he replied smoothly. “Not to worry, I have the appropriate attire. I will be ready when Happy arrives.”

“I’ll see you there, then!” She replied, and then hung up. Loki closed the fridge, put the phone on the counter, and went to observe himself in a full length mirror. He’d only worn a Midgardian suit once before; when visiting Thor in his interrogation room at the SHIELD set up around Mjölnor. But since then he’d seen plenty of men’s suits in the magazines he’d seen while reading about Tony’s escapades, it would take less work to create one that would work for him.

“Jarvis, please pull up some suit reference for me,”

The sun had already set low beyond the horizon, and Happy would be arriving soon. Loki stood on his balcony, ready. His hair was slicked back, his suit form-fitting, pressed, and clean, a perfect bow tie about his neck. He gazed at Tony’s house, where he could see lights on through the large windows. He thought about going over and telling Tony about his benefit.

He reached inside his pocket for his phone when a bright flame shot out of Tony’s mansion and into the sky. Loki yanked his phone to his ear. “Jarvis, what is that?”

_‘That, Mr. Laufeyson, is Mr. Stark,”_

“Is that—is that the armor?”

_‘It is a remodeled version of the Mark I, sir. He has been—Sir, I do not advise you do that!’_

“Is everything okay?” Loki asked, confused.

_‘I apologize, Mr. Laufeyson, I am running in several places simultaneously, and powering the suit, and—sir! You cannot ascend this high!”_

Loki’s grip on the phone tightened. “What’s he doing?!” he demanded, but JARVIS didn’t reply. He put the phone in his jacket pocket, climbing the rooftop to get a better view in the sky. It was black.

“JARVIS where is he?”

The sky exploded with a fiery light that soared through Malibu’s suburbs, and a voice rang through the night. “YEAAAAH!”

_‘I do believe he is alright, Mr. Laufeyson.’_

“Y-yes, I can hear him…” he laughed nervously, sitting on the roof. “He’s alright, he’s safe.” Loki repeated between breaths as he calmed down, his smile light but relieved. He climbed down from the roof and watched Tony from his balcony again, wondering if Tony knew he was being watched. JARVIS must’ve connected a com from the suit to his phone, because he could hear Tony yelling and laughing through the speaker now.

“Well done, Stark.” he muttered with the last bits of a laugh carrying his voice.

He heard Tony said “Kill power,” as he returned to his home. The words were followed by a loud series of crashes, the sound of a piano breaking, and the final crunch of metal. Jarvis hung up.

Happy was waiting for him outside a few minutes later, and he made his way down the stairs and to the car. Happy pulled up and Loki sighed at all the Paparazzi he saw, waiting and jumping at other well known faces as they made their way down the red carpet. Happy drove around, to the parking lot where only valets returning from parking cars were present. Well, several valets and one tall redhead.

“Thank you for doing this,” she smiled at him as he got out of the car. “And you look lovely,” She complimented.

“Thank you, Ms. Pot—Pepper. Your dress is very well suited to you,” He replied, and she beamed at him. “A birthday present from Tony.” and they laughed together, and he took her hand, kissing it, and rubbing a thumb over her wrist, smearing a red dot over the skin. She stared at it with wide eyes as it changed, growing into a beautiful corsage, a gorgeous red flower on her wrist.

“Happy birthday,” He smiled, and she blushed, playfully pushing him away.

“Loki, you sly man, you. I definitely called the right guy to woo our guests tonight.”

“I do not intend on disappointing your expectations.”

The benefit had only just started, but Loki wouldn’t have been able to tell. The ballroom was filled with guests, tables with hors d’oeuvres and waiters carrying champagne. Loki and Pepper stepped into the limelight, and all eyes went straight to Loki, who found himself feeling who became self conscious at the sudden attention. During every party and celebration he’d attended in his life, Thor had been the one who people had paid the attention.

Pepper touched his shoulder reassuringly. “Good luck. If you need some air just go through that back door and text me, I’ll meet you out there” She gave him one last reassuring smile before walking to talk to some older folk, leaving Loki with the younger adults, all whom stared at him with predatorial eyes. He loosened his tie and ran his hand through his hair. Just get them to swoon.

He nailed it. The people all stared, too nervous to approach him themselves, and unable to hide it; his confidence grew, and he approached the nearest guest. It was a woman, in her thirties, wearing expensive jewelry and a fancy, form-fitting purple dress. He kissed her hand and did a small magic trick, immediately impressing her.

With each guest he spoke to, his confidence swelled. He flattered the guests, men and women, young and old alike, without difficulty. He met one man who seemed particularly interested in him, although Loki didn’t reciprocate. The man, he learned later, had recently divorced his third wife, and was at the fundraiser with his current girlfriend, although none of these things seemed to discourage him from asking for Loki’s number, let alone grabbing his ass. He was largely offended, but dismissed himself politely without complaint. He passed by Pepper after his escape and whispered in her ear: “I hope you’re happy…” And she only laughed, nodding.

“Oh, I am.” She pointedly glanced at his butt. “Really, though, how did you get such a nice—?”

“I’m starting to understand why Tony chose you as his assistant.”

“I am the best at asserting myself,” she joked before parting ways with him again as a few people approached to speak with Loki.

She didn’t wish him luck this time; she knew didn’t have to.

—-  
Tony sat behind his desk, eyes scanning the holographic screens around him as he drank a blended nutrient drink. He had an ice pack strapped to his shoulder, and had since cleaned the cuts on his face. He was working with JARVIS on the armor, fixing the thrusters and choosing a paint job. From the corner of his eye, the TV caught his attention. “JARVIS, volume.”

“…third benefit of the Firefighter’s Family Fund is being held here at the Disney Concert Hall by none other than Stark Industries, however, after Tony Stark’s announcement regarding shutting down the weapon’s manufacturing operations of his company, we aren’t expecting an appearance from him.” Tony looked around his desk. The only out of place things there being the old cup of coffee Pepper had left, along the the square, brown package she’d brought with it.

“JARVIS, did I get an invite to that?” he asked, taking the box and tearing off the paper. It was a small glass case, like his old arc reactor perched inside like a trophy with the words  
‘Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart’ on the bottom of the case. He smiled and put it back down.

_“No, sir, you did not,”_

Tony stood up, tossing the ice pack on the desk behind him. “JARVIS, prepare one of the cars, please,”

Tony was definitely a flashy guy; there was no denying it. He liked to have the finest things, and he liked to show them off. So, now that he was crashing a party—his own party, it was more than fair to say that Tony was going to be as flashy as hell. He took a long, much needed shower, wore a pressed and steamed, designer tux, and drove a brand new silver sports car. 

He pulled up to the concert hall, tossing his keys to the valet. It took less than a second for the press to spot him on the red carpet, and surprised, they hurried towards him. Camera’s flashed, people screamed, and old friends greeted him—Hugh Hefner among them. He caught sight of Obadiah and made for his direction, smiling and patting him on the back. Obadiah looked at him with surprised, but Tony didn’t give him a chance to complain, leaving as suddenly as he’d approached him, immediately making his way inside.

 

The concert hall was full of guests and potential benefactors, and he greeted them with false interest as he made his way to the bar to order a scotch.

“Mr. Stark? I’m Agent Phil Coulson.” Tony turned to see a smiling, balding man in a suit looking at him expectantly.

The bartender handed him the drink. “Oh yeah from the- uh-”

“Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division.”

“Quite a mouthful there Agent, might want to shorten the name.”

Agent Coulson nodded. “We hear that a lot. Please, I know this is still a sensitive time for you, but we really need to debrief you on your escape from Afghanistan,” Tony took a sip from his glass and looked across the concert hall, past the man. He spotted Pepper, who was turned away from him. She had on a blue dress with a non-existent back—not what he’d expected.

“I just need to fill the empty pieces of information, an appointment possibly the 24th at Stark Industries?”

Tony stuck out his hand and Coulson shook it. “Right, any time. Let me just talk with my assistant on the issue.” Not having heard a word of what the man had said, he made his way to Pepper. “You look fantastic, almost didn’t recognize you.”

The couple Pepper had been speaking to walked away and Pepper turned to face him. “What are you doing here?” she asked mildly surprised. “Are you here alone?”

“Yes- and where did you get that dress? It’s absolutely stunning.”

“You got it for me, it was birthday present.”

“I did?”

“Well- you paid for it, so…” She replied, smiling.

“Oh- well then, happy birthday do you want to-?”

“Oh my goodness, isn’t he just so hot?” He heard a woman gush to her friend as she walked past them.

“He is! And his voice is so soothing- oh I wish I’d asked for his number!” The girls glanced over their shoulders and giggled as they headed to the other side of the room.

Tony see who it was they were talking about, but couldn’t make out who it was they were talking about.

“Did you invite a man more handsome than me?” Tony asked playfully.

“I did. Those girls were probably talking about Loki.”

Tony looked out the crowd again and raised an eyebrow at Pepper. “Loki? Loki’s here? And wait- I am way more handsome than he is. Why is he here?”

“I invited him. JARVIS was telling me that he’s spent most of his time in his apartment since he got here, and I figured that he needed to get out a little more.”

Tony crossed his arms. “JARVIS told you?”

“Well yes, gave him the phone like you told me to, and when I asked JARVIS how he was doing, he told me he was keeping to himself.”

While he appreciated that Pepper was trying to help Loki out, it bothered him that she’s used JARVIS to keep tabs on him, though he knew she didn’t mean any harm. He made a point to speak with JARVIS about it. “Well then, how’s he faring with socializing with us mortals?”

Pepper raised her eyebrow at Tony. “What?”

“Never mind—inside joke. Anyways, enjoy the rest of the evening, Ms. Potts, I need to speak to a certain Norse God.”

She rolled her eyes at the nickname that Tony gave him. “Tony- Loki misses you.”

“Does he now?”

“And I know you miss him too.” Tony paused in his steps for a slight second before walking away.

He found Loki chatting up possible benefactors, same as Pepper had been when he’d found her. He walked up behind him briskly, putting his hand on Loki’s butt in greeting.

“I didn’t expect to see you here—though, I must say, you look great—though—not as good as me,” The benefactors excused themselves.

“Tony—I didn’t think you’d be coming tonight,” Loki said, looking upon him with genuine surprise. After seeing the Mark II in flight, he’d completely forgotten to call Tony.

“I like crashing parties—even I’m throwing them,”

Loki watched the couple he’d been speaking to as they made their way in the opposite direction. 

“If you’d given me a few more minutes, I could’ve talked them into donating more.” 

Tony’s eyes scanned Loki’s clothes, smelled his cologne, and found himself surprised at how sharp he looked. He stood out even here, among some of the biggest names in the country.

“Ah, so, Pepper set you up to reel in the money huh?” Tony asked.

“Yes, though I do find it’s rather enjoyable,” and Tony nodded in agreement.

“Would you like to dance? I’ll let you lead.” Tony offered.

“Pardon?” Loki quirked an eyebrow at him.

The billionaire took Loki’s hand and pulled him to the dance floor, placing his left hand in Loki’s right and keeping his other on Loki’s arm. He wasn’t at first sure if Loki had ever danced formally before, but Loki placed his hand in the appropriate place on his waist and began to lead, holding him at arm’s length. Tony scoffed at this, pulling him closer—they weren’t twelve years old, after all--and Loki tensed.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” 

“No, not particularly.” Their eyes met as the music slowed; guests stopped dancing to watch them. Tony’s expression grew smug as a result of some of the younger women’s reactions, their face blushing in excitement. “I’m not accustomed to this sort of attention,” he admitted. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” He was distracted.

“Enjoy the attention, Stark,” Loki didn’t like repeating himself.

“I stop worrying about it,” he replied too simply. Loki frowned at him with his eyebrows, his hands loosening on Tony. “Would you like to get some air?” he nodded at the balcony, and Loki replied with a yes. The people didn’t follow. “Gotta say, didn’t see the whole nervous thing coming from Mr. “I’m an Asgardian god!’ and shit.”

Loki laughed. “So, you’re finally admitting I’m a god?” He raised an eyebrow at Tony. “As opposed to a lunatic?”

Tony was tempted to argue, but he didn’t. It was true, after all. Tony had come to terms with the fact that Loki wasn’t from earth, and that he wasn’t human, despite his humanoid looks. But he wasn’t about to stoke the fire.

“So, what’ve you been up to? Pepper seemed to think you spend all your time being bored.”

“Not at all. I’ve been doing more research on humans. You’re a very peculiar race, you humans.How is the new suit coming along?”

“What? How did you—”

“I saw you flying tonight,” Loki smirked at his surprise. “head you, as well,” And he pulled the phone out of his inner breast pocket to explain. “I was talking with JARVIS, about to call you when your suit malfunctioned. Guess he got a bit overwhelmed, being used so many places at once.” Loki paused and sighed, and when he continued, his voice was noticeably lower. “I also saw you fall from the sky.”

“Haha, oh, that. Turns out ice builds up around the suit when you fly up too high—” Loki put his cold hand on Tony’s cheek, and he stopped talking. Their faces were only inches from each others. “…Loki?”

“I can see it.”

“See what?” Tony asked uncomfortably. Being the flirt he was, he wasn’t accustomed or generally uncomfortable with being up in people’s faces. But this was different, this was deeper. His face was getting warmer, blood moving to his cheeks. He tried to move back, but Loki held him close persistently.

“The bruises, the scars - and it’s barely noticeable, but you have limp.” And Tony was surprised. He was walking with a limp? “You haven’t healed properly, either. You’ve put yourself through a lot of stress lately, I can tell. Why didn’t you call me? I could have helped,” His voice sounded disappointed; and his eyes looked remorseful. But why? Was Tony supposed to just call him up every time he got a bruise? Why did his voice sound disappointed? Was he just supposed to bother Loki and heal him whenever he needed it? Tony shook his head - Loki wasn’t some walking first-aid kit. Loki’s was his friend. “Does it hurt?”

Tony was well practiced in pain tolerance. He had a small pain threshold—but even he couldn’t think away the pain during their captivity. Loki was always there, though, healing away his problems, reducing his stress. Hearing it, being reminded of his injuries sent his brain to work remembering them, and he began to feel the soreness and the limp again.

“You can’t lie to me,” Loki said, as though he knew.

“It doesn’t hurt.” He replied, but his the bruises were awake, the strains pulling, his muscles unwilling.

Loki scoffed. “You’re a bad liar,” Loki leaned his forehead down against Tony’s, and Tony felt himself stiffen completely, Loki’s breath moving over his lips. Loki’s thumbs drew deep patterns on Tony’s temples. The cold air seemed to grow warm around them, and he felt a strange, familiar sensation spreading through him, like warm water down his face, hotter blood through his veins. His muscles relaxed and he felt completely at ease, like he was in a dream, and he felt his eyelids grow heavy and then fall closed. Tony put his hand on top of one of Loki’s and sighed contentedly. Loki pulled away, surprised, and Tony stumbled forward a little, never having realized how much he’d began to lean on Loki. Loki’s lips pressed against his forehead, and the feelings sustained for a moment longer.

Loki pulled away completely, and Tony felt the world grow cold again. He opened his eyes, and his body felt fresh, and new, his bruises gone, as though the past few weeks hadn’t been spent in a laboratory. 

“See? If you had called I could have done it sooner. Are you feeling better?”

Tony put his hand back where Loki’s had been moments before. His face was warm, and he was probably blushing. It was completely unlike himself, and yet, he couldn’t help it; he felt safe, and vulnerable at the same time, and he felt complete, like something had been missing, something he’d never known he didn’t have. He’d found the thing that put him back together; Anthony Stark, billionaire, playboy philanthropist, merchant of death—and he’d finally found what he’d been missing. It wasn’t money, or women, or prudence, and it wasn’t generosity or a change of heart. It was Loki, who could help him sleep without nightmares, would make him ready for whatever shit he’d find in the world. He was right there, in front of him.

He was, for now.

Loki reached out and ran his fingers along Tony’s cheekbone. “Was it not enough? Do you want me to try again?” Tony shook his head lightly, smiling, and held Loki’s where it was, and though he knew his face must’ve been red, Loki’s was too, and it was okay. “Did you drink too much?”

“No, no, I only had one glass.”

Loki felt awkward, but he didn’t move out of the touch. He found himself moving closer thoughtlessly, not knowing why. “Then what is it?” he asked, and Tony’s face was completely serious again when he answered. 

“Stay with me.”

A small smile spread onto Loki’s face. “I am here.” But Tony shook his head, eyes searching his.

“No, I mean stay with me, at my house. Or I could go to yours - I just need a lab. No - no, mine’s better - the lab is already there…” He was going to start babbling if he wasn’t careful. The epiphany had hit him, like a wave, washing over him and clearing away his confusion. He wanted Loki with him, close to him: at breakfast, in the lab, at meetings, in bed —

“Are you sure?”

Tony’s eyes continued to search through Loki’s, and he saw the fear swimming in them. “Yes. Please, Loki, I… you were great help to me before.” He couldn’t say it. His actions would have to be enough.

He wrapped his other arm around Loki’s waist, punctuating the statement.

“You don’t want me.”

“I think it’s clear I do want you,” Loki removed his hand from Tony’s face, and Tony grabbed Loki by the tie resulting with Tony pulling him down.

“Do you hate me?”

“What? No- of course not.”

“Then why won’t you live with me?” He asked, tugging him downward more. Damn the man for being over 6 feet tall.

“Because I am just like the men who took you.”

“The Ten Rings? How are you anything like them?” Was Loki bullshitting to get out of the truth?

Loki held his breath before exhaling slowly.“I tried to kill an entire civilization, Tony,” and now Loki’s eyes were searching his. “And I want nothing more than to finish the job. They were monsters. It’s not something I want you involved in. I have no intention of hurting you,”

“You’re not going to hurt me.” Tony said, standing on his toes. Loki’s lips were right there. He just needed Loki to lean down a little bit more—

“How do you know?” Loki whispered, moving closer.

How did he know? If Loki had the powers to heal, then it was just as likely he could kill a human with the same ease. He could steal the armor as well, if he was living with Tony. He could use Tony’s weapons to take over everything.

Then again, Tony didn’t have the greatest history when it came to Stark Industries weapons.

“No more questions.”

“Agreed.”

Had the left the party then, they both know what would’ve happened. There would’ve been sloppy, hungry kissing. There would be ripped clothing and ruined and wrinkled suits on the floor, and a particularly enamored couple fucking against the wall. They’d want everything, give everything, get everything from each other, and for the first time in a long time, things would’ve been perfect for both of them.

But that’s not what happened.

“Excuse me boys…I hope I’m not…interrupting anything.”

The bubble the two of them had been locked in popped abruptly. The dream was over. They released each other slowly, pulling away and straightening their clothes. Tony folded his arms and Loki fixed his tie.

“To what do we owe this visit, Ms. Everhart?” Loki asked.

She was wearing a black, form-fitting dress and she held a manila folder in her left hand.

Tony stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out if he knew her as well. Had he slept with her?

“Just here you talk about your company, Tony.”

“Look — I’ve been kind of out of commision for a while now, Miss…Everhart. I couldn’t tell you much of anything about what we’re doing right now, honestly—”

“I’m not here to ask for information, I’m here to give it,” She pulled out several photos from the folder and handed them to Tony. “These were taken in Gulmira. Apparently your Jericho missile has been delivered there recently—a delivery I’m guessing you didn’t issue,”

Loki stood behind Tony and looked at the pictures, his expression showing his distress.

“Gulmira—isn’t that—”

“Yinsen’s village.” Tony’s voice was flat.

“Yinsen?” Christine asked.

“When were these taken?” Tony interrupted.

“Yesterday. Looks like your company is going behind your back, Tony. This is all I have. I hope you can sort this out. Also—I expect and interview with you, Mr. Laufeyson.”

Loki waved her off. “No promises,”

She gave them a genuine farewell smile and returned to the ballroom. Tony’s face showed his complete disbelief clear as day. Yinsen’s village was being destroyed by the Ten Rings—thanks to his company—and there was no way in hell [or Asgard] that Tony was going to let it happen without a fight. He was going to have to have a serious conversation with Obadiah.

“Go,” Loki said, a weak smile on his face. “Go sort this out. I’m going to head home,” he twitched an eyebrow. “I’ve seduced enough people for one night.”

“Are you still going to stay…?”

Loki’s smile widened, and Tony felt like an awkward teenager, waiting to see if his crush would go to the dance with him. Loki took his hand and kissed it. “I will come to you in the morning.” he promised.

“Okay,” Tony replied.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Good luck,” He turned and left, walking inside, catching up with Christine and talking to her briefly before leaving. Tony went inside to talk to her after Loki left, and she told him Obadiah was outside, speaking to the press. He went outside, shooing away the press so that he could try to demand an explanation.

“Let’s just take a few pictures for the press, Tony,” He said, putting on a fake smile for the cameras before whispering; “Who do you think locked you out of the company, Tony? I was the one who filed the injunction against you. It was the only way I could protect you.”

Obadiah walked away from him to talk to the press, leaving Tony confused and angry. He went back inside, unable to question Obadiah further in front of the press, and Christine looked upon him with sympathy.

Tony left not much longer after that, leaving Pepper to do the closing on the benefit. He stripped off his tuxedo and went to his lab to work more on his armor. The tv was still on, tuned to a news channel where a British woman explained that the citizens of Gulmira were now being forced out of their homes.

“…locals as the Ten Rings. As you can see, these men are heavily armed, and on a mission—a mission that could prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way,” The camera switched to a man making a fist as the Ten Rings ravaged through Yinsen’s home; killing men indiscriminately, capturing the women and children and dragging them into one big group. Tony readied the repulsor of the right arm of his suit.

 

Loki sat calmly in his bathtub, still soaking in the water, though the bubbles had already dissipated. The bathroom door was open, and he watched television from the tub. “A child’s simple question; ‘where are my mother and father?” There’s very little hope for these refugees, who can only sit and pray that fate with show them some mercy.”  
Loki stood up, drained the tub, and grabbed a towel from his linen closet, listening to the television as he did so.

Tony held out his arm and shot at the ceiling, stood up, saw his reflection on the glass wall, and froze. He glared into his reflection. The reflection of a man—a mass murderer, who turned bolts and screws into mass produced weapons and called it peace. A man who had caused the death of Yinsen, of Yinsen’s family. He stared at the monster in the glass, and his stomach lurched.

Loki wiped the fog off his mirror and stepped back. He saw a monster, sheathed in Asgardian skin; a liar, a murderer, a genocidal psychopath. No matter what Tony said, he could see the truth in his own eyes. He was no better than the Ten Rings. He’d wanted to protect his family, and Asgard, to make everyone proud of him, he wanted to conquer in the sake of good. Instead, he’d gone too far, taking the control of Asgard in the worst way, attacking Jotunheim when he couldn’t deal with the truth. He was a terrorist, like the Ten Rings, killing for his own agenda. He was a killer, and everything in his reflection reminded him of it. 

Tony tried to turn away from the glass, but he couldn’t; he couldn’t stop staring into the eyes of the man he hated so much—the killer—he was no better than his father, really. Not in the least bit. His rage bubbled inside him and he raised his arm and fired the repulsor at the glass, shattering it. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t look at that man anymore. Couldn’t meet his own eyes in the reflection.

Loki’s fist reeled and and then shot forward, smashing the mirror and bending the metal behind it. He stared at the shards, in the sink, on the floor, and cracked in the mirror frame. The blood from his hands dripped on the floor and his hand began to heal. 

There was nothing they could do to change the past, though, and they both knew it. They could kill their reflections as many times as they wanted, and it wouldn’t fix what they’d done. 

“JARVIS, call Loki. We’re doing this tonight.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Loki head to Gulmira to destroy his stolen weapons and stall the Ten Rings and the two become closer than ever before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I am so sorry for the late update, after finals it seems my writer's block wouldn't go away. Hopefully this will suffice the long wait.  
> Remember: This story is following the events of Iron Man 1 but with Loki added in.
> 
> Warning: un-beta'd. My editor is on vacation and I don't want to bother her, and if there are major mistakes please comment so I can fix them. So Sam if you're seeing this- have fun in DC and don't worry about this xD. Love ya!

Loki received Tony’s phone call just seconds after he healed his bleeding hand. He looked at the broken shards of glass, which were still scatter on the bathroom tile. With a quick snap of his fingers he could have cleaned the mess and repair the mirror, but it only meant staring at the monster again. Scoffing, Loki changes into casual day clothes. The cold air nipped against his exposed skin as he exited the building and walked to Tony’s home. 

The ocean waves crashed alongside the rocky cliffs. If he could see the sky Loki would suspect that his brother was brewing up a storm for reasons not understood. With an uncomfortable feeling in his chest Loki somehow missed his brother’s random outbursts causing parts of Asgard to thunder. The thunder meant that Thor was nearby, close to Loki. 

Memories of his brother and home were slowing him down, so Loki pushed them away and focused at his destination.

Before he knocked on the door JARVIS automatically opened it and led him to the lab. No code was needed as Loki entered through the broken glass door and watched as mechanical arms attached the suit to Tony’s body. “Glad you can make it.”

While the living room had the heater turned on the lab was just as cold as the outside. Tools, blue prints and glass from the doors and windows were scattered around and Loki carefully walked over them to get to Tony. “So, what exactly are we doing tonight?”

Tony pointed to the television which was still featuring the Ten Rings attack on Yinsen’s village. “We’re going to stop them.” 

Loki crossed his arms. “How?”

“How?” Tony mimicked as JARVIS did the final calibrations on the suit. “We fly to Gulmira and kick some terrorist ass, that’s how.”

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. “Once again Stark, how? 

“I don’t understand what you’re asking Shakespeare. We’re flying to Gulmira-

“I heard you Stark.” Tony flinched that Loki used his last name twice. “You said ‘we fly’. I might be a God but I cannot fly. My brother cannot either without his hammer.”

“Well, can’t you just teleport or something?”

“I can but that takes a subsequent amount of energy which I do not currently possess.” Loki shouldn’t have been feeling so drained but he figured that his mental state was affecting his physical performance as well. “Believe me when I say I want to help Yinsen’s village but what good can I do if I cannot go there?”

It was a good question indeed and Tony mentally noted that even gods had their limits. His inability to fly was definitely a surprise but should have seen it coming since Loki crash landed in Afghanistan instead of falling slowly, or flying his way out. Tony had a spare suit but was too short for Loki to use. The God transformed into his old armor and helmet to show that he had something to protect and cover him during the fight. However Tony was still concerned for his ability to withstand supersonic speed of the newest MARK. Loki persisted that no matter how, he will be joining Tony in their mission to destroy all weapons in Gulmira no matter how he is forced to be transported.

Embarrassingly Loki latched onto Tony’s armored neck for dear life as Iron Man broke the sound barrier to reach Yinsen’s village faster. After much arguing over how Loki was to make it to Gulmira, Tony suggested that being carried was the best option. “You know, you’d look cute being carried in my arms like a blushing bride.” Loki punched him for that, but the plan wouldn’t have worked because Tony was not used to flying and needed the fire power from both his hands and feet. “Oh! Sit on my like you’re riding a horse! Which reminds me- how did you have sex-” if it wasn’t for the suit the billionaire’s face would have been purple for a week. Tony then proposed Loki would take his part of the job in the lab. Wearing a headset, Loki could communicate with Tony and warn him of any enemy attack- acting as a second pair of eyes. Loki rejected this as well since he knew that he should be fighting for Yinsen and not to sit on the sidelines. 

Finally Loki agreed to hold onto Iron Man from the back as they flew across the sky. His position was impossible for a human to withstand but proved non-fatal when they reached the village. Both watched in horror and disgust as the Ten Rings brutally invaded the land, destroying buildings and killing the men. The blue skies were filled with black smoke from the bombs and trails of missiles, almost destroying their view. 

Tony scanned the ground and focused on a couple who were doing their best to comply with the terrorist. The father raised his hands as a sign of surrendering but the men pulled them apart, trying to force the women and children into trucks while the men were lined up against the wall to be executed. His son was screaming for his father and broke out of his mother’s arms to save his father. Although both were able to embrace his father kept pushing him to stay with his mother and it took a punch and a kick from the Ten Ring’s commander to do so. His son was unharmed but now the father was on his knees with his hands behind his head, waiting to die.

“Are you ready Loki?” 

Loki inhaled sharply and kept his eyes close. For a quick second he took himself into his own world and channeled the energy he had left. When he opened his eyes they were glowing bright green and he smirked. “I’m ready.”

The God released himself from Iron Man and both landed hard on the ground. With his repulsers on full power Loki ducked as Iron Man fired at the surrounding enemies. All men were hit on the chest and flew to the wall but he stopped when the women and children were screaming. The other terrorist were behind the hostages with guns to their heads forcing Iron Man to lay down his weapons. Loki used this time to stand by his side, his arms too laid down. The men were yelling incoherently while shaking the guns to the hostages. Still smiling, Loki snapped his fingers and the men suddenly fell unconscious. 

The small boy broke from his mother yet again to run to his father, crying in his arms. His father held him tightly whispering that “everything is okay now.” Both Tony and Loki wished that they could have stayed longer, to make sure that these people were still protected but had to continue their mission. 

Loki scanned the buildings when he noticed a figure fidgeting behind a wall. “There.” He pointed. Iron Man walked to the wall and punched through it to grab the commander of this small battalion. He threw him on the floor and Loki restrained him with magic. 

“He’s all yours.” Iron Man said. Loki quickly grabbed onto him and the two flew away, leaving the villagers to deal with their destroyer. 

Their next target was just a few miles out of Gulmira, a nearby town that was also pillaged and destroyed. Iron Man locked his target on his stolen missiles ready for another attack when Loki shouted. The billionaire felt Loki’s weight shift as a force field was created to protect them from an incoming missile. However the explosion was too powerful and sent the two crashing on the dirt. “Loki? Loki are you-

“I’m fine.” The God grunted in the crater they created. Tony stilled to allow his suit to recalibrate his screen and find the enemies. He stood up and saw the tank that fired at them. It shot again and Iron Man stepped aside. Holding his right arm out, a tiny missile was released and caused the tank to explode.

Loki was out of the crater too and with his force field, he threw his knives at each of the gunmen. He then hooked himself onto Iron Man once again as he took them to the sky, aiming another mini rocket at his stolen weapons. The small weapon destroyed the larger ones creating more smoke in the air and the two flew off.

Just as they reached high altitude Loki began to laugh in relief. “W-we did it Stark. We saved his village.”

Underneath the mask Tony couldn’t help but smile to. “Fuck yeah we did. But we might need to return soon, those bastards will most likely return.” Inside the suit his phone began to ring. “Interesting, getting a phone call so hold on a second.” He could have sworn he heard Loki mutter ‘why would I let go?’ but ignored him. “’ello?”

“Tony?”

“Who’s this?”

“Rhodes.”

On his left he pulled up a picture of his friend. “Speak up please”

“Tony? What the hell is that noise?”

“I’m driving with the top down- what’s up?” Rhodey explained that he needed Tony’s input, because an unknown boggie attacked a terrorist group near Gulmira and it wasn’t authorized by any U.S military branch. He asked why Tony sounded out of breath but before he could reply, Rhodey said that they found the boggie and that they were going “to blow it to kingdom come”

“Tony?” Loki yelled. “I believe we are being followed.”

Tony turned his head to see two air force jets right on their tail. “Hey Loki, do you think you can, like, glue yourself to me or something?”

“I think but I don’t see-

“Just don’t let go!” Tony abruptly took a sharp turn and began circling the sky in hopes to lead them off. Once again he activated the supersonic speed to get ahead but behind them was a warhead. 

Without looking Loki blasted his magic at the weapon before it could hit. Unfortunately the fire was powerful enough for the two to loose flight. Tony watched as Loki fell from his back and began hurtling towards earth. He quickly regained stability and dived in to catch Loki who grabbed onto his shoulders and the two were off again. The jets were still right behind them so with a warning to his partner Tony stopped in midair and the jets continued to fly. For now they believed that they disappeared so Iron Man quickly latched himself at the bottom of the plane. In order to survive the military had to stop firing, and to do that he had to make a phone call.

“Rhodey!” He yelled when his friend answered. “It’s me.”

“Yeah I see the caller-

“No I mean it is me- I mean us! The boggie!”

“Tony this isn’t a game. You do not send your equipment to a civilian war zone.”

“It’s not a piece of equipment it’s me! I’m in the suit and Loki’s on my back!” His suit was badly damaged from the previous attacks and he could see his screen blurring. “IT’S ME!”   
It seemed that the other general commanded that they returned to base, but when the jet that they were on turned the other one saw them. Over the other line Tony could hear 

“It’s on your belly! It’s a… man with a green cap attached to some kind of robot! Shake him off!”  
The jet started tumbling in the air and Tony couldn’t hold on much longer. Loki created another field to protect them when Tony was violently thrown at the other jet’s wing. It began to spin out of control so the pilot ejected himself. 

For a moment the two could breathe again when the attacks ceased. Tony’s screen zoomed into the pilot when he realized that the parachute was not ejecting. “Ready for one more?” He didn’t wait for Loki to reply when he dived down to the pilot and punched into his seat. The jammed parachute finally released and he was safe to land, allowing Tony and Loki to finally return home. 

“Tony, you still there?” Rhodey asked.

“Yup, thanks for that.”

Rhodey laughed. “You crazy son of a bitch. You own me a plane. And what do I tell the press?”

“Um training accident? Isn’t that the usual BS?”

“It’s not that simple.”  
\---

“And in a training accident near Gulmira our military is working on better safety instructions and the safety of those living in the area…”

With an ice pack on his head Loki smirked at the television and Rhodey’s attempt to appease the public of what happened a few hours prior. Just a while ago the two safely landed in Tony’s lab and collapsed on the cold concrete floor, both very tired from the adrenaline and various explosions of fire left and right. Tony removed his face plate to reveal bruises and scratches. He turned to Loki with a full smile and teeth showing, however there was also red in his mouth. Loki quickly scrambled to Tony’s side and placed his hand over his face. Tony watched as a green like fog surrounded his vision and a second later his face was not hurting. “Once you remove the rest of your armor I can continue the healing process.” 

“Why don’t you give me a kiss to make it all better?” Tony questioned with wiggling his eye brows. 

Loki stood up and dusted himself off. “I was but after making me ride on your back the entire way I believe I deserve a greater reward. I’m taking your bathroom.” 

“I’ll be joining you.” 

Loki went through the broken windows and up the staircase. After allowing time to rest Tony finally got on his feet and commanded for JARVIS to remove the armor. He was lifted from the floor and JARVIS’s mechanical arms began to pull away at the armor, proving that taking it off was difficult. Tony began to mumble to his AI when he tugged too hard at 

Tony’s limbs. “Ow- ow gentle! Gentle!”

_Sir, this would be much easier if you didn’t struggle._

“Sorry JARVIS this is my first time.” 

“Tony?” 

JARVIS ceased his ‘attacks’ and allowed Tony to peer over his shoulder. His assistant was standing on the broken glass in her heels and a black dress suit. Her green eyes were filled with confusion and worry as she couldn’t stop staring at the armor. “Let’s face it this isn’t the worst thing you caught me doing.” He blurted, trying to lighten the mood.

“A-are those bullet holes?”

Tony cringed and prepared for a mouthful from his assistant while mechanical arms continued to tug at the metal. She didn’t, at first. Without breaking eye contact she found Tony’s stool and sat down. She ran her hands through her bangs, almost messing up the rest of her hair that was in a bun. Tony could see the stress growing on her face and the bags under her eyes became more noticeable. But before he could make another joke the yelling and scolding and throwing of her shoes began. For the most part Tony tried to tune her out and calm her down. He picked up some words like “dangerous” and “weaponry” and “what the hell are you doing with an armored suit with bullet holes?” Apparently she also ran into Loki while he was heading to the bathroom because she commented at his torn clothing and bruised face. 

_"You need to stop this shit Tony! I refuse to stand here as you hurt yourself."_ That little sentence hit him hard as he never considered Pepper's input. But honestly, he felt that it wasn't her place to question his actions because it was his responsibility to fix his mistake with her help or not. She was on the verge of tears, though, with frustration and Tony's _poor_ decisions of vigilantism and suddenly Tony felt a wave of guilt hit him. 

Eventually Tony was out of the armor and Pepper became exhausted. She excused herself for a cup of coffee down by the pier. Tony on the other hand stared at the suit that was almost busted with the bullets and gun powder. It wasn’t a wreck, but a mess indeed. He decided too, that he was a wreck and a mess so a bath was necessary. 

Tony’s bathroom was large enough to be another bedroom, with a shower fit for four (who knew what or who he did in there) and a bathtub the size of a hot tub. To a God the bath was still small, but better than what Loki had in his apartment. The water was still warm and had a filter so it wouldn’t dirty with the ashes in his hair. He finished washing himself but wanted nothing more than to relax his muscles and be taken away by the steam. Loki had his eyes closed while listening to music he had JARVIS put on. He was almost asleep until he heard the door open with Tony standing on the other side wearing only a towel around his waist. 

“Excuse me Stark; I believe I was here first.”

Brown eyes darted from green ones to the neatly folded pile of clothes sitting on the sink. Those were not Loki’s clean ones, but the armor he wore when fighting. Tear marks and dents on the metal plates ruined his armor and looked something like Tony’s suit. “Can I join you?”

Loki pouted and sat up. There were spare bathrooms all over his mansion and a sink in his workshop. Why Tony couldn’t use one of those he wasn’t sure, until he noticed Tony’s pained and wary face. Just moments earlier they were smiling and joking about saving the day. He’s never seen the man look so drained and sad. “I suppose- it is your bathroom.” He pulled his legs to his chest to make room in the giant tub. Loki looked away when Tony removed the towel and sat at the other end of the tub. He reached over for a face towel and soap and scrubbed his arms and face. Loki noticed how gentle he was on his skin so the dirt was not being washed away properly. “Come here.”

“Huh?”

“Come here.” Loki repeated. Tony shrugged and made his way to Loki’s side of the tub. “Turn around.” Uncharacteristically Tony did as asked. Taking the towel and soap Loki proceeded to wash Tony’s back and heal him at the same time. Tony’s shoulders slumped although the taller one was unsure if he was relaxing or falling asleep. “Tony?” The shorter man leaned back into Loki’s chest and sighed deeply. Loki stopped washing and put the rag aside. “Are you feeling ill?”

“I haven’t slept in a while.” 

“Not before we left for Gulmira?” Tony’s hair brushed against his chest when he shook his head. “How have you not collapsed from exhaustion?”

“Heh, I had worse. Hey, wrap your arms around me.” Before Loki could ask why Tony took the God’s arms around his waist while resting his head on Loki’s chest. Both became still, and without the water splashing they can hear the music that JARVIS had on earlier. Tony closed his eyes and smiled. “This is nice.”

Loki leaned his chin on Tony’s head. “I was thinking, you hold many charity events correct.”

“Yup, wanna go to another one?”

Loki scoffed. “Not exactly. Can you make a benefit for any cause?” Tony nodded. “Then… may be start one in Yinsen’s name?”

He didn’t expect Tony to leave his arms and face him with a giant smile. “That’s an awesome idea! Like- for those who lost their loved ones to the Ten Rings- all the money will go to those the children and family. Let me call Pepper so we can prepare-” Tony had one leg out of the tub before Loki pulled Tony back in and embraced him.

“Now-now, I think we can establish the benefit after you properly bathe and have a good night’s rest.”

“But you got me excited.” Tony replied with a cute pout.

Loki kissed his forehead. “Bath, sleep then benefit.” 

“Kiss me again then I do what you say.” The sorcerer raised his hand and a bucket of water fell on top of Tony’s head. 

It still took a lot of coaxing (and a bit of manhandling) to get Tony into bed and for him to sleep properly. He was pouting like a child with his arms crossed when Loki successfully got him in. “Read me a bed time story.”

“No, go to sleep.” 

“Ugh, meanie.” 

With a chuckle Loki sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hand through Tony’s hair. “Do you want me to stay with you until you sleep?”  
Tony refrained from making another joke because with those long cold fingers in his hair the mortal wanted Loki to stay. He wanted to curl up next to the taller one until slumber took over, and then he wanted to wake up in Loki’s arms. Just peaceful bliss with the God. 

Loki’s hand was still in Tony’s messy brown curls when Tony snapped out of his fantasy. “Actually, can you do something for me?” Loki nodded. “There’s a flash drive on my desk. Find Pepper, and give it to her.”

“What’s it for?”

“It has codes to hack into Stark Industry’s mainframe.” Tony yawned and pulled the covers over his chest. “I need to figure out how my weapons are being shipped with my authorization. She’s the only one I trust who can go do the job. I mean- I’d ask you but you’re technically not authorized to enter the building.”

“I understand and I’ll get the flash drive.” Loki responded. “Sleep well Tony.”

JARVIS dimmed the lights but before Loki left, he lingered by the doorway and contemplated whether or not he should stay until Tony was fully asleep. Cuddling with the billionaire would be just as nice as they were in the bathtub. But the flash drive errand seemed much more important than an intimate moment with someone who one is unsure if they’re in a relationship with. 

He entered the lab to see the armored suit hanging loosely with wires that came down from the ceiling. The bottom half was missing and scattered on the ground with the rest of the tools. The flash drive sat on the desk along with labeled manila folders and blue prints of the suit and contracts that Tony has yet to sign. He reached for the small device when he heard someone step on the broken glass. 

“Loki? Where’s Tony?” Pepper asked as she made her way around the mess.

“I put him to sleep.”

She laughed. “How? I put sleeping pills in his drink once and he didn’t even yawn!”

“A warm bath and a benefit idea, he seemed pretty tired after.”

 

With a smile still on she touched Loki’s arm. “You are so great to him I hope you know that. I’ve never seen him so happy before. Um- what’s in your hand?”

Loki looked down at the flash drive and handed it to Pepper. He told her of Tony’s request to hack SI’s and find who is allowing his weapons to go to the Ten Rings. Her smile immediately faded and she pushed away the flash drive. “Please Ms. Potts; this is really important to Tony and the company. We cannot allow these men to continue to kill using Stark’s name even after he disbanded his weapon industry.” He stuck his hand out to give back the small device.

She bit her lip in hesitation. “Loki, I don’t think I can do this. This is hacking into his entire company- I don’t think I have any authorization- and after seeing those bullet holes-” 

He took her hand and placed his on top with the flash drive in the middle. “I know. I know how hurt we looked but it does not mean Tony is wrong. Tony stopped making weapons to protect what he loves. As his assistant and friend, will you help him?”

Pepper visibly stiffened and blood stained her already red lips. Hacking into the system could get her and Tony into trouble, and even with someone’s good word Tony would lose so much with ownership with his company. Yet looking back when she first became his assistant, Pepper watched as Tony made tough choices with the company, sacrificing his health and compassion to push some policies through, and all those times she stood by him. With this request he could bring everything down.

And yet he’s trying to save the ones he loved, and she’s having second thoughts.

“Alright.” Pepper finally said. “But tell him he owes me an island.”

Loki smiled and his green eyes glittered like a happy child. “Thank you! Thank you Pepper. And I was wondering, if I may join you? If someone inside the company is doing such   
deeds I would like to know too.”

“Of course, but what about Tony?”

“He is asleep, and we may ask JARVIS to leave a note, correct?”

_Of course Mr. Laufeyson. The AI replied. Is there anything else I can assist you with?_

“That’d be all JARVIS.” Pepper replied. “Let’s go.”

Stark Industries was the microcosm of the future. Just the outside was sleek with silver-chrome walls and clean windows. The patio contained white bricks and square green bushes that led to the entrance, which were French doors with a keypad and card swipe. The inside could be mistaken as a hospital with the walls so white and bright, if not for the many computers attached to the ceiling and walls. Unlike a regular office building, everything was open. There were glass windows that exposed the common conference rooms on the lower floors, while access to the highest floor was still by ID. All the employees wore clean cut suits and busy scurrying around the premises to finish their work, once in a while stopping to ask one another about the numbers. 

Pepper entered with Loki right by her side, and the God felt out of place. He wore a dark green suit as she suggested but it did not help that the employees were staring at him like they did at the party. Some receptionists paused and looked up from their computer screens and take a long glimpse at his tall figure. She tugged at his sleeve and as casually as possible they made their way up to Tony’s office. There were not as many workers, and none questioned Pepper or Loki’s presence in the building, so they easily slipped in.   
Obadiah’s office, which used to belong to Tony, had a giant sky view of the city, while his walls hung pictures of old fighter planes and shelves of his alcohol. Pepper closed the door behind them, sat in his chair and started his computer. The screen asked for a user name and log in, so she plugged it. The words ‘security breach’ popped up. Loki held his breath, thinking that they’ve already been caught but a second later they were granted access. 

The flash drive was doing most of the work when it found something labeled ‘Ghost Drive’ and opened the contents. The first two were digital blue prints of Tony’s missiles. She opened the third file that read ‘Sector 16’ and were schematics of the Mark 1. “How did they get these?” Loki asked.

“What are you up to Obadiah?” Pepper murmured and opened up the next file- a video footage of masked men with guns. In the middle of the picture was a man tied to a chair with a sack over his head. She started the video and the men spoke, although neither Loki nor Pepper understood. They remove the bag that revealed it to be Tony, beaten and bruised. “What? Those are the Ten Rings!” Loki confirmed.

The redhead typed something in that translated the video. “You did not tell us that the target you asked us to kill was the great Tony Stark. As you can see your deception and lies will cost you-.” Pepper muted the video and began to copy all the files into the flash drive. 

“So…?” Pepper and Loki jumped in unison when they heard the voice of Obadiah. Loki cursed slightly for not sensing the man’s coming presence and now both had to think of a way to talk themselves out of their situation. “What am I going to do about you two?”

The older man smiled as he walked closer to the desk and poured himself a drink. Pepper’s eyes kept glancing at the computer screen watching at each and every file of the ghost drive were being copied. “I know that you are going through a rough time with Tony.” He picked up the glass bottle and took a whiff of the alcohol. “Oh Tony, always gets the good stuff right?”

Pepper smiled nervously while Loki gripped the back of the seat. Both of them noticed that the flash drive was exposed in Obadiah’s view. Pepper noticed the newspaper and slid it over the device, and as Obadiah walked closer Loki waved his hand over the screen. Pepper turned the chair to face the man while Loki stepped aside.

“I was so happy when he came home. It was like he came back from the dead.” He walked behind Pepper and towards Loki, still smiling so brightly. 

Loki visibly swallowed but replied in an attempt to buy more time. “I could imagine yes. You are his… family correct?” 

“He only has a couple of close friends so yes. But you’ve seen him Pepper; he’s not really back is he?” He took another sip of the drink and sat down on the desk. “A part of him seems to still be in that cave. Breaks my heart.” Another long sip.

“Well,” Pepper took a deep breath. “He’s been through a lot. But I think he’ll be just fine, Loki’s taking good care of him.”

Obadiah licked his lips three times before answering. “You are a very are woman, staying by his side all these years. And you,” he turned to Loki. “What a wonderful friend. That cave really bonded you two hm?” Loki smiled as well and nodded. “Tell me, is there more between you two? Some party goers were telling me that you two were quite cozy that night.”

Pepper looked at the screen and could see that the files were almost done yet Obadiah didn’t seem to notice. Whatever Loki did with it made is so he couldn’t see the screen. 

“Why yes, I do say our circumstances months ago did bring us together.” Just a couple more seconds then their mission would be completed. “But we are not lovers.”

Obadiah scoffed. “It wouldn’t be bad if you two came out though. In fact that’s more fame and publicity for you two.”

The transfer was complete and with the newspaper over the flash drive Pepper removed it. 

“I assure you that I do not enjoy the attention you proclaim. Thank you for your inquiry though as Ms. Potts and I must depart to- um.”

“Meet with agent Coulson.” She finished for him. The assistant was already out of the chair and halfway to the door with Loki following. “He’s still nagging about Tony’s ‘debriefing’ and we’re meeting him today.” 

Obadiah situated himself in Tony’s seat. “Well then, don’t want to keep an agent waiting.”

Both just smiled and turned away. “Oh, Ms. Potts? Is that today’s paper?”

They both froze yet again to quickly think of a scheme. “Why, yes it is.” Loki replied as he swiftly took the paper out of her hands while she still had the flash drive. He jumped   
again, however, when Obadiah suddenly appeared by his side with that oh so foreboding smile. 

Obadiah acquired the paper. “Crossword.”

Loki wasn’t sure what a crossword was but he just nodded and the two left the office. Pepper looked down at the flash drive and back at Loki as they entered the elevator. “How did you- with the computer screen-?”

“We need to hurry.” He said pushing the lobby level button several times. 

“What?”

“The time to conceal the screen lasts as long as I was in the room. Now that we’re here he’s going to see.” Pepper still had more to ask, such as how he concealed the screen without touching the mouse but they had bigger problems such as Obadiah so she kept quiet. 

They made it to the lobby and with descending down the stairs they noticed agent Coulson sitting on the chairs. “Ms. Potts, we have a meeting.”

“Yes, I know so let’s go.”

Coulson raised his eyebrow and stood up. “Should we have the meeting in your office?”

“No, we have to go now, we should talk in the car, or your office, but we just need to go.” Coulson stopped asking and lead the two to his car. Before they left the building Loki looked back to see Obadiah glaring down at them. His hands gripped the hand railing and his smile was gone replaced with a gaze that meant destruction. Loki quickly turned away and followed Pepper into the car.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obadiah has the final piece of technology to power his own suit, and his first action: kill Pepper and Loki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the 7 (or 8) months delay with this. School just got in the way and then writer's block. This chapter would also be a complete mess, but thanks to [MyOhMandy ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MyOhMandy/pseuds/MyOhMandy), everything is going again. Without her this chapter would sound like crap. She knows how to make my writing, well, good for you guys to read.

Stark Industries was more than just a weapon production and design company. Stark Industries was America’s titanium backbone. When it came to missiles, bombs, and all other assorted weaponized technology, you either went Stark or went home. And American’s were perfectly fine with this; they had all bragging rights to the most efficient and deadly technology on the market, and unless America said so, nobody else did. So every time Tony revealed a new design for spy technology, or missile launching, people were content to swallow the simplest of lies; it was for the good of America. Synthetic intelligence units, or SI unit, were in control of the weapons, as were the good people of the American military, risking their lives for the good of the country. It didn’t matter if sometimes the military misused these weapons, or did things that the average civilian would call into question should they ever somehow happen across the information. It was all for the good of the country, in the end, and what America didn’t know couldn’t hurt her.

It should have come as no surprise to these same Americans, then, that as a result of the limited ability of these weapons, that other countries, their enemies in particular, would covet them. It was harder to find a country that didn’t have their eyes on the technology than it was to find one that did.

It was so easy, convincing the Ten Rings to attack Tony Stark during his demonstrational conference in Afghanistan; promise them a few of the trinkets they’d set their hearts on and point them in the right direction, never mind that he had planned to have these same men killed after their job was done.

Too easy. The greed in their hearts was greater than the sense in their minds, so instead of doing as they were told, they’d kept the billionaire alive. They had thrown him in a cave, starved, threatened, and tortured him; but he was still alive. And he’d escaped, not only with his life but with a new, lucrative idea he refused to sell.

Some might have said that Obadiah was worse than Tony’s captor’s in his greed, since it was he who had, after nearly raising the boy, who had planned to have him assassinated overseas with every intention of playing the horrified friend and father figure to the press. Obadiah never saw it that way, though. Stark Industries had grown to it’s full potential in Tony Stark’s hands and it was time for a better man, a smarter, older, wiser man to take the company to places it had never been before. In Obadiah’s eyes, while there was no denying Tony’s brilliance, there was no ignoring his incredible faults, which greatly out weighted the former. Tony often needed to be pushed even to continue to making weapons, and in spite of his flashy appearance, wasn't as heartless as he made off to be.

But it was all the same to Obadiah Stane. To withhold that sort of genius from the world was worse than any sort of greed exhibited by himself or the terrorists he’d hired to do his dirty work, and to make matters worse, upon returning, he’d shut down weapon production entirely, essentially shoving their stock worth off a cliff and sending company employees into a state of panic. To make matters worse, his own specially hired scientists were making little to no headway in the completion of a replica of the thing Tony had made to escape.

“Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!” he’d protested violently when the scientists had announced their failure.

“Well, I’m sorry,” one of the head engineers had replied, composed of mostly nervousness with a small amount of defiance. “I’m not Tony Stark.”

If you want to get the job done, you do it yourself. And it was with that thought that he’d begun his final plot to kill Tony Stark and get back what was rightfully his.

Breaking into Tony’s home was the easiest part. He’d only had to wait until Tony had left his workshop. It had almost felt too easy after all of his work. It seemed like only a matter of second before he had Tony sitting on the couch, his face deathly pale, as he attempted to answer Pepper’s distraught voice on the phone. Obadiah saved him the trouble: he took the phone form Tony’s hand and hung it up, whispering a word in Tony’s ear as he did so.

“Breathe,” his voice was a soft, sinister thing, and Tony felt the hair raising on the back of his neck. Tony tried to look at the older man, to make questioning eye contact, but could barely move. His face, nonetheless, showed his fear and confusion so honestly Obadiah felt a smile slide across his face.

Obadiah switched the device off and removed the earplugs. He hung it in front of Tony’s ghostly face. “You remember this one, right? It’s a shame the government didn’t approve of it. There’s so many applications for causing short term paralysis.” Tony’s head began to slump over onto his shoulder, so Obadiah grabbed it, forcing Tony to look him in the eyes. “When I ordered the hit on you,” he began, and Obadiah could’ve sworn, in spite of the paralysis, that Tony’s eyes widened. “I was worried that I was killing the golden goose.” He said as he reached into his bag to pull out a metal, claw-like device that he positioned over Tony’s arch reactor. The claw made a loud screeching sound as dug a grip onto Tony’s lifeline. “But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that.” The arch reactor gave a resounding click of release. “You had one last golden egg to give.” He twisted the device, carefully pulling it out. Tony felt the wires pulling in his chest, a faint, awkwardly painful feeling. Obadiah paused before continuing.

“Do you really think…that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?” He snickered and gave the arc reactor a final tug, and the remaining wires snapped and the reactor came loose. Obadiah held it in front of Tony’s face.

“Oh, it’s beautiful. Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony.” He sat down and draped his left arm over the couch, derisively comfortable. “This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at it’s heart; weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. Honestly, he wasn’t sure exactly what the arc reactor did in relation to Tony’s body, but the longer he went without it the more sickly his appearance became.

He reached over and opened the black brief case he’d brought with, opening it to reveal a molding fit for the arc reactor. “I wish you could’ve seen my prototype. It’s not as…well, not as conservative as yours.” He laughed quietly. “Too bad you had to involve Pepper—and do tell, who was that man from the cave? Loki? It’s too bad; they had so much potential for the future of the company. I would have preferred if they had lived.” Obadiah stood and locked eyes with Tony for what he thought would be the last time. There was sweat running down his face, and he to Obadiah he looked exquisitely alarmed. He gave a parting nod and then left Tony to die.

Aside from Tony’s rapid breathing, the house was virtually silent. But with every moment, with every breath, he was getting closer to his death. He cried for help, but, unable to speak, did so only with his head. He cried out for Yinsen, who not so long ago had saved his life; for Loki, who had healed him countless times; he cried for Rhodey, who had found him the desert, and for Pepper, and the tears in her eyes when he’d returned.

He took one more breath, and then forced himself off the couch. It wasn’t graceful; his entire body was resisting like it was made of lead, and each movement felt like lifting long weights attached to half raw noodles. He crawled into the elevator, smacking his hand at the button. He had to get to the lab, to the lab where Pepper had unknowingly left his only salvation. He felt cold, and the room seemed to tilt and whirl around him whenever he moved his head. The door slid open, and Tony began to drag himself out of the elevator. He could see the arc reactor relatively in his vision, which was growing less reliable as he lost his sense of balance to growing lightheadedness.

He stood, only to fall, and began to use the things around his lab to further his half crawl. He reached up, felt the cold touch of what must’ve been the glass case holding his only hope, only when he tried to grab it he pushed it further away. He let his arm fall off the counter for a moment, heaving breaths. He wasn’t giving up, he told himself. He could do this. He struggled to find the energy to grab for it again when he saw Dummy, trophy case in hand.

“Good boy,” he gasped out, before smashing the trophy case open to get the arc reactor in side.

 _What do you know?_ He thought vaguely. _Pepper saved my ass again._

\-----

Pepper’s easy persistence in heels never ceased to amaze Loki. While living in Asgard he’d been excepted to don heavy, often uncomfortable armor for battle and special events, and even earth’s casual clothes were often better equipped to breathe—though he often felt a bit naked in them—but he couldn’t imagine having to wear heels. Even Frigga generally wore comfortable intricately designed lace-up sandals rather than heels, and Sif shoes were designed for comfort and protection in battle. Those, he understood—and yet, when Pepper, who was naturally tall, strapped into a pair of heels she took on a new level of strength.

On their way to arrest Obadiah Pepper phoned Rhodey and after informing him of the urgency of the situation, asked him to look for Tony, who wasn’t answering his phone.

Loki rubbed his thumbs over his closed fists nervously; all the tension in his body seemed to have moved to his hands, and he could not keep them still. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to find the source of his nervousness. Rhodey had found them in the desert, after all, and if he trusted anyone to find Tony now, it was Rhodey. Agent Coulson, the pushy guy from the Strategic Homeland Intervention—whatever—had enough men and weapons to take Obadiah down without a synch. Everything was in control—but no matter how many times he told himself that, the feeling that something was going to go wrong wouldn’t go away. 

“Section 16…section 16…” Pepper muttered under her breath as she key swiped their way into the building. They found section 16 with little effort. She swiped her keycard card, her anxiety showing in a slightly overactive way—only to have the card rejected. She tried it again, confused, and turned to Coulson, her forehead creased with nervousness. “My key isn’t working, it’s not opening the door.” Coulson held out his hand and one of the agents handed him a small device. “Oh, what’s that? It’s like a little device—it’s like a thing that’s gonna pick the lock?”

“You might want to stand back,” he replied, and, getting the idea, Pepper and Loki took a several steps back, Pepper choosing the furthest distance from the door and covering her ears. Coulson popped it onto the door and after a moment or two of beeping it detonated, destroying the lock and allowing them to get inside.

They made their way down the staircase in a hurry, Coulson at the front with agents trailing behind Loki, who was behind Pepper. Safety was first priority, but it was essential that they catch Obadiah. The agents held their guns at the ready as they opened the door at the bottom of the staircase and walked into the lab.

The room was dark and quiet: the only light came from the computer monitors, and as far as they could see, there was no one else in there. Metal chains hung from the ceiling, and down a short pathway between pipes they found a metal device off to the side, at least eight feet tall.

“Looks like you two were right: he was building a suit.” Coulson said, relaxing somewhat at the apparent absence of an enemy.

“I thought it’d be bigger,” Pepper replied, stepping further into the room to get a better look at the suit. But Loki shook his head, stepping in front of the armor and pressing his hand against the chest plate around the hole for the arc reactor.

“That’s because this isn’t Obadiah’s. This is Tony’s design.”

“Tony Stark’s?” an agent repeated.

“Yes. He engineered it in the cave,” he ran his hand over the metal. “There’s no mistaking it.”

A quiet rattling noise caught Pepper’s attention and she turned around, lightly pushing past the agents. There was a platform and a hang support system a few feet further into the lab, and where dangling, still swaying slightly, although there was no draft in the lab. The agents resumed their search for Obadiah in the lab. Loki followed Pepper closely, turning to watch more chains hanging from the ceiling sway and clank together like wind chimes. His heart stuttered and he felt himself switch into defense mode.

“We need to run,” he whispered in her ear urgently. Pepper began to back up slowly, her expression giving way to her fear.

“Why, what’s over there?” She asked, but the darkness answered her question before he could. They heard the quiet, telltale sound of a mechanical device switching on and moving, and then there were two lighting up the. Pepper gasped, falling back another step.

“Run!” Loki yelled as Pepper shrieked, and he and Pepper turned to flee. The two eyes moved closer as Obadiah’s suit emerged from the darkness, powered by Tony’s arc reactor. Loki cast a shield mid turn to protect them against any immediate attacks, saving their lives as the agents attempted to shoot the machine out of commission. Obadiah ignored the agents, following Pepper and Loki instead. Loki knew he had to keep the both of them safe, and he wasn’t sure what to expect in way of attacks from this copycat machine. Obadiah grabbed for Pepper as she ran out of the room behind Loki, knocking the door completely off it’s hinges but missing her.

As the two rushed out of the building, Pepper’s phone lit up with a call from Tony. She used her headset to answer it.

“Pepper,” he heard tony begin over the line.

“Tony! Tony are you okay?!” She replied anxiously.

“I’m fine—“

“O-Obadiah—he’s gone insane, he built a suit—“

“I know—listen, you better get out of there—get out of there right now!”

Pepper was still watching the door when the concrete behind them began to crack.

“Um—Pepper—“ Loki said in alarm, and immediately she turned around, the two of them briefly frozen in horror as Obadiah ripped his way up through the concrete ground. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” they heard him say through the suit.

Loki launched five knives at the metal suit, and while they hit their marks, they found no weak spots. Energy materialized around his right hand and he swung it back before aiming and shooting it at the weapons face. The suit stumbled back a few feet, but recovered quickly, launching himself at Loki.

“Your services are not longer required,” he said, tossing him at a car. Horrified, Pepper screamed and ran to him as Obadiah prepared to attack again.

“Heeeeeeeeey!” A voice called from the sky. A missile like object flew down at Obadiah, smashing him and the missile—Tony, in the Mark II—through the concrete, where they slid rebounded against a railing and then went straight through a concrete wall—where the highway waited on the other side.

Loki’s head was spinning, and his body ached. He felt Pepper’s hands on his shoulder and chest, doing her best to see if he was okay.

“Where’s Tony?” He made an attempt to stand despite a desperate throbbing in his leg.

“He’s fighting Obadia—oh my god, Loki, your leg!” she shrieked. He looked down and found that a piece of metal from the car broken off and was lodged oddly in his leg. He’d had worse injuries, all in all, but the battle wasn’t over yet.

“I’m alright,” he insisted. “I have to help—“ he tried again to stand properly, only to fall back onto the car. It was uncommonly unlucky of him to sustain an injury of this severity so early in battle.

“You’re not going anywhere, Loki.” She replied, strength returning to her voice. “I need to call Rhodey—“

“N-no. P-pull it out!” He said, looking into her eyes with a growing feral determination.

“What?!” She exclaimed, horrified.

“Pull. That. Damn. Thing. Out!” he yelled back. Pepper’s eyes entire face seemed to be dedicated to her horror at the suggestion. Her mouth hung open, her eyebrows and forehead scrunched as sweat ran down her face. He could see a million thoughts running through her head, and, growing more desperate, he yelled again. “Pull it out!” and she started, pulled off her jacket, kneeled down and rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, wrapping the jacket around his leg.

“Hold still, okay?!” she shouted, looking at the metal shard in his leg with a look most people reserve for atomic bombs. She wrapped a hand around it and Loki cried out as it shifted a bit in his leg and she froze, looking back at his face in hopes of a new suggestion.

“Damn it woman, just DO I—“ his scolding was interrupted by his own loud screech of pain as she yanked the metal out, cutting her hand in the process. Blood began to flow out and she immediately wrapped her jacket around the wound, hands shaking violently.

“Don’t you ever swear at me again,” she replied, her voice almost steady as she stood and offered him her hand, bloody from both their wounds. He gave a dry, pained laugh.

“No guarantees, Ms. Potts,” he replied, waving her hand away. “One moment, one moment,” he inhaled slowly and began to focus his energy on the injury in his leg, doing his best to push the pain out of his mind. His hands emitted a small glow as he rubbed them carefully over his leg.

“W-what the hell is that?” Pepper asked, clearly alarmed.

He chuckled lightly through the pain. “Magic, Ms. Potts.”

“Wha—do actually expect me to believe—“

“There will come a time, I am sure…” he paused, still focusing on his leg. “for an explanation. This however, is not it.” Pepper helped him to his feet, supporting him as the echoes of pain began to ebb away.

There came a loud BOOM from the highway as a truck exploded. They turned, looking up at the sky and saw two object hurtling towards the sky, the smaller one—Tony—in the lead. Loki could do nothing, still, with the two of them in the sky.

“W-what should we do?! Are you gonna go after him?!” Pepper asked, panicked.

“Go after him?! He’s flying!” Loki replied, feeling the same helplessness as Pepper sink through his skin.

“I thought you had magic!”

“I can’t do everything! I’m not a go—well—never mind!”

The two watched the sky, their entire bodies tense with apprehension, but it wasn’t long before the two suits were completely out of sight.

“The military—it’s not interfering ,” Loki realized, remembering the American launched attack the last time he’d been with Tony in the Mark II

“Rhodey must be keeping the skies clear for him,” Pepper replied. The moments ticked away like hours, and the two waited, their hearts thudding in their chests.

They saw Tony’s suit reemerge first, sputtering in an out of flight and landing him clumsily on the roof of the building.

“Potts,” Loki heard Tony say from Pepper’s Bluetooth headset.

“Tony!” Pepper answered immediately. “O h my god, Are—are you okay?”

“I’m almost outta power, I gotta get outta this thing. I’ll be right there,”

Loki stood on his own, flexing his leg with a grimace, though the injury was almost healed. He focused his magic and managed to teleport to the top of the building with little difficulty. Loki hurried over to him as Obadiah touched ground behind them, Tony completely oblivious as he attempted to remove the left arm of his armor.

“Tony!” Loki shouted, and Tony whirled around, and seeing Obadiah, accidentally aimed his now naked hand at his enemy. Obadiah took the opportunity to punch Tony, who dodged the first time and got sent reeling back the second. He grabbed Tony when he came back at him and began to squeeze down between his two armored hands in an attempt to crush him. Loki immediately began to attack, using all his remaining force. A hit on the leg his side, the back of the neck had Obadiah jostled enough that he dropped Tony, his suit smoking. Loki took this opportunity to thicken the smoke with a quick spell. Tony hid himself behind a wall to talk to Pepper and Loki continued to distract Obadiah until Tony was ready to join the fight again. He launched himself onto the back of the suit.

“This looks important!” he announced before he began ripping wires out of the neck of the suit. Obadiah reached back and grabbed the Mark II, tossing him onto the glass above the huge arc reactor Obadiah’s scientists had been building.

Loki teleported in front of Obadiah to distract him, but overestimated his ability to efficiently cast the spell before being counter and found himself being thrown on glass by Tony. His leg was not as healed as he’d thought, he realized then, as the pain surged up into his body.

The suit’s face shield rose up, revealing Obadiah’s smirking face.

“You finally out did yourself, Tony! You’d have made your father proud!” he said, crushing the head of the Mark II he’d ripped off during their tussle.

“It’s ready, Tony! Get off the roof!” Pepper said, her voice clear as day through the speakers of the Mark II now that the head of the armor was gone. Loki looked down too see Pepper standing by the huge arch reactor, which was now pulsing unstably. Loki began to half crawl off the glass, glancing over to see that Tony hadn’t moved. Obadiah began to shoot at the two of them, Tony shielding his face with his forearm and the bullets unable to pierce Loki’s skin now that his defenses were at a high. The bullets began to shatter the glass, falling straight down at Pepper until Loki conjured a spell that turned it to sand as she yelled up at them, worried.

“How ironic, Tony! Trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it it’s best one ever!”

“Pepper!” Tony yelled down.

“And now, I’m going to kill you with it!” he aimed a missile at Tony but missed pathetically. “You ripped out my targeting system! Obadiah realized, outraged.

“Pepper, hit the button!” Tony screamed.

“What?!”

“Hold still, you little prick!” the next missile missed Tony, but almost hit Loki in the process. Tony was handing from the center of the metal supports over the arch reactor now, having fallen through when Obadiah shot out the glass under him. He was beginning to lose his grip.

“Just do it!”

“But you’ll all die!” she insisted.

“Do it!”

There was a surge of bright light from below and a sudden upward force that sent Tony out of the whole and onto the roof. The blast from the arc reactor sent a surge of power to Obadiah’s suit, causing it to malfunction and kill him. The blast went straight up into the clouds, electricity surging from it before running out of engery and going out, taking out at fraction of the city’s power with it. The sky went dark.

The suit was still standing, but there was no question. Obadiah was dead. The suit fell over, through the roof and onto the giant arc reactor, causing it to explode. There was a long moment when he realized Pepper was still inside, only to be comforted by the sudden yelling of—

“Tony! Loki! Are you guys okay?!”

Loki pulled himself to his feet, forgetting the pain again as he ran to where Tony was laying, his eyes closed and arc reactor dark.

“No, no, don’t do this,” he cursed, feeling for a pulse on Tony’s neck. The heartbeat was faint. “Anthony Stark, don’t you dare die on me now!” he put his hand over the arc reactor, closing his eyes and focusing his magic on powering the device. He didn’t even know if it was possible, if magic could mix with technology, but he had no other choice. It was this, or let him die. “Wake up, please! Stark, Stark…Tony—wake up.”

The blue light flickered on.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [I Can't Control You (I Don't Know You Well)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/501122) by [azerblazer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/azerblazer/pseuds/azerblazer)




End file.
